Tears of an Angel
by fangirl0012345
Summary: Ellara Lat'toy is part of a race called Rendorians, who have recently joined the Federation. She must learn to overcome her past and choose her own future, no matter what anyone tells her. Will her species' violent nature bring her trouble? Will her enthusiasm for giving advice land her in the good graces of the Enterprises' crew? Spock/OC with Spock/Uhura at the start. SLOW BURN.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

One month before Ellara Lat'toy's birth, her mother and father visited their small towns' leader. Igbandu was located at the edge of the Leurielle sector, one of the four countries on Rendoria VI. It was one of the closest towns to The Middle, an area inhabited by what could be described as peacekeepers. Meritha and Nalli Lat'toy were overjoyed with the knowledge that Meritha would soon be giving birth to a child. And so, as was customary, they visited Elliha, who would read the stars and tell them who their child would love more then life itself.

When Elliha put her hands to Meritha's belly, she smiled, and seemed to know exactly what would happen. Which would be preposterous, considering that only the High Priests and Priestesses knew the future. However, it was tradition, and so the two parents listened with equal rapture as Elliha began to speak.

"You will have a beautiful baby girl," she began, only to be interrupted by Meritha's squealing.

Nalli quickly calmed Meritha, and signalled to Elliha to continue. "She will travel the stars, and see some of the most beautiful things this universe has to offer. Her beloved… she shall be the Barut's daughter. They came by not two weeks prior, and they are aware that your daughter and theirs shall be bonded."

At the couples' expectant looks, Elliha sighed before exclaiming, "Well? Aren't you happy? You're having a daughter! She has her soulmate!"

It took a few moments, but the news finally seemed to sink in, and Nalli and Meritha both cheered, before hugging. At Meritha's groan of pain though, Nalli quickly grew concerned. These past few weeks had been harsh on his beloved, and he wanted to make sure that she was as comfortable as possible. Meritha waved him off, before beginning to give thanks to Igbandu's leader. Nalli joined in, and Elliha had to practically chase them home to get them to stop talking.

Once they arrived, the two got ready to sleep, and rejoiced in the thought that they were going to have a little daughter.

Exactly one month later, little Ellara Lat'toy was born. She had the cutest face anyone had ever seen, but she was a screamer. She came out with such a fuss, the doctors wondered if she was premature. But Nalli assured them that this was her time, and that she would just be an emotional child.

After being cleaned up, Meritha was able to hold Ellara, and that is when she finally opened her eyes. The Barut's and their daughter, Lywa, had joined the two parents, and everyone gasped. Her eyes…. they were a startling green. It was expected that every single Rendorian in the Leurielle sector would have brown hair and green eyes, but none were as striking as little Ellara's. They looked simply magical. And in the intensity of the moment, Meritha began crying because her child was just _so beautiful,_ and so then Ellara started crying, and this triggered two week old Lywa, and soon everyone in the room was crying and the doctor's were wondering what was wrong with this family.

But once they had calmed down, the nurse shoo'd everyone out, and finally understood why they had been crying. Their child, she looked like an angel. This family was blessed, the nurse could tell right away, and she was so glad to have been able to witness this miracle.

* * *

Fifteen years later, Ellara was celebrating her birthday with her best friend Lywa. The two were aware of their engagement, and were in complete agreement that they were meant to be. However, Rendorians courted much differently than humans; while humans would date and kiss and be affectionate, Rendorians would behave like the closest of friends until their marriage. This was to allow them to become as familiar with each other as possible. Well, that, and that the two were rarely more then a town apart until their marriage. Rendorian law dictated that two people betrothed to each other must stay as close as possible at all times. It was something that all children resented, but then grew to appreciate.

This was one moment were Ellara definitely appreciated that law. If someone had asked her three months prior of her opinion on her soulmate, Ellara would have said she was alright. But now… now, Ellara was without a doubt hopelessly, sickeningly, and madly in love with Lywa. She couldn't get the girl out of her mind. Her hair was always tied up, and Ellara cherished the moments when she let it down, and would admire the older girls' flowing curls. Her eyes, they were a deep forest green that Ellara felt she could get lost in. And her skin… oh god. Lywa's skin was like the colour of the richest chocolate anyone had ever seen, and she was sure that it tasted just as sweet. With full lips and sharp cheekbones, Ellara could not wait for the day she would be able to cherish Lywa in full, as her wife, rather then as her friend.

"Ellara? Ellaaraa? Ellara!" The fifteen year old was snapped out of thought by the sound of her friend's voice.

"Whu-?" Ellara began, recovering from her daze.

Taking notice of her surroundings, Ellara remembered that the two had been sitting on a log, discussing the bright purple designs that adorned Lywa's skin. Having turned fifteen two weeks prior, Lywa had already received her stripes, claiming she was an adult. Among other things, these also allowed her to legally drink alcohol, as well as be challenged should she ever traverse into another sector. Such as Zellphori. Those Southerners had always been jealous of the Northern beauty.

"What's wrong?" Ellara asked, finally noticing Lywa's concerned gaze.

"You're burning up, sweetie. Are you alright?" she asked, pressing her hand to Ellara's forehead.

Ellara was in too much of a daze, lost in the reality that _Lywa was touching her forehead what should she do_ to realize that she should be worried. This problem was soon rectified, however, when Ellara began to experience pain like nothing she'd ever felt. She fell onto the ground, writhing, and Lywa began to panic, crying for someone, anyone, to help.

And that was when Ellara promptly burst into flames.

As soon as the flames began to lick up Ellara's skin, burning her beyond repair, Lywa calmed down, and decided to call Meritha, and tell her the news.

Once the flames died down, Ellara was left lying on her back on the ground, in complete pain, and wondering why her stripes had to arrive just as Lywa was being affectionate. Most humans would be worried that they just spontaneously combusted, but this was normal for Rendorians. As soon as they turned 15, they would burst into flames, and the purple stripes that Rendorians were known for would appear. Most other species were unaware as to how they appeared, but admired their beauty. Those who knew admired the pain Rendorians had to go through to acquire them. They were, indeed, scars caused by the fire. No one was sure exactly why this happened, but it did, and it would repeat every 10 years until the day they died.

Ellara then spent the next week recovering, and finally was able to admire the beauty of her newfound maturity.

* * *

A little over a year later, in the Zellphori sector, another child was born. This one had skin as white as snow, hair as light as paper, and eyes so light that she would be mistaken for a ghost. A High Priestess was born, and she would soon be moved to the Leurielle sector to begin her training. After all, the North-Western quadrant was in charge of the education, upbringing and defence of all High Priests and Priestesses. And one family in particuliar was tasked with safeguarding them on their way there. The Barut family.

So, it was with much protest from the children that the Barut and the Lat'toy packed their bags, and began their trip across The Middle to the Zellphori sector. The new Priestess was born in a town that was also on the edge of The Middle, so the journey was quite short. So short, in fact, that it only took a week.

Once they arrived, they received many stares from the residents of Neutris, but the two families knew exactly where they were going. They received the child, and began making their way across town. However, along the way, Meritha wanted to stop in a shop to look at some jewellery, and who was Nalli to refuse? So the Barut's continued on their way, leaving Lywa with Ellara, as the two were discussing schoolwork.

As they excited the store, Meritha clutching a necklace made of crystals, a drunken man approached the family. "Well, well, well," he slurred, raking his eyes up and down the women.

Nalli took a protective stance as the man continued. "You're all some fine meat. It's not often we get some Northerners down in this town, but I can tell you, we treat them all the same. And so…"

The man glanced at Meritha and Lywa with an evil glint in his eyes. "I challenge you two, to a duel."

Nalli paled, realizing their was nothing he could do to help his family, and began to panic. He was, however, not as worried as Ellara. She began to mutter, shaking her head quickly, begging Lywa to walk away and pretend she hadn't heard. But she couldn't. The challenge was issued, and law stated that she was not allowed to deny.

With a brave faces, Meritha and Lywa waited for a mediator from The Medium to arrive. There was always at least three per city, and one was not far away when the duel was issued. When he arrived, he glanced from the man to the women, and lowered his gaze, already assuming the outcome.

And so the fighting began. The drunk, who had seemed to be practically dead when he issued the challenge, had clearly been faking as he punched and kicked his way through. In one fell swoop, he managed to get both woman in a choke hold at the same time. Ellara prayed to all of the Priests and Priestesses she knew of, begged the gods, and pleaded with her ancestors. But it wasn't enough. Finally, after five long minutes of fighting, Meritha and Lywa were dead.

Ellara's world went numb. She couldn't really comprehend her father's cries, or the fighters cheers, or the mediator's sad head shake. All she could see were the lifeless eyes of her mother, and the blue lips of her betrothed. Her bonded. Her soulmate. Her friend. Dead.

It took a few moments, but Ellara finally came to the realization that they were dead, and sank to her knees, crying out for the lost souls of her family. She knelt over Lywa's corpse, sobbing, and not even the most hateful Southerner could deny that this girl, this _Northerner,_ she looked like an angel in that moment. If heaven was real, and angels were guarding over every single Rendorian, they would all agree that when Ellara cried, it was like heaven itself were weeping, and nothing broke a heart more.

* * *

It took a few months before Ellara accepted that they were both truly gone, and they weren't coming back. Her and Nalli had taken to wearing black, as they were both widowed. Ellara may have not been married, but to Rendorians, being bonded meant that you were together for life, and so if one died, you were a widow.

One evening, as father and daughter stared blankly at the television, Nalli finally spoke after five months of complete silence. His voice, albeit a little hoarse, spoke some of the saddest words ever heard. "I feel empty, without her. I was always so used to feeling what she felt, being able to see what she did, that now… It doesn't feel right."

Ellara simply kept staring.

* * *

Over the years, as Ellara returned to society, Nalli began to retreat. He wasn't a terrible father by any means, but he didn't pay attention as much as he used to. He wasn't as active or involved.

He didn't care much the day Ellara came home with the news that the Federation had finally accepted Rendorians into their ranks, something he and Meritha had been wishing upon for years.

He shed a small tear the day of Ellara's twentieth birthday, as did she. This was when Lywa and Ellara would have been married, when she could have finally loved Lywa a she wished.

Nalli was away on business the day that Ellara left home to join Starfleet. She would be the fourth Rendorian in history, and first female to join Starfleet. Like the other three, she would be studying to become a counsellor, a position well suited to Rendorians and their skills at communication. It also helped that a majority of Rendorians were known to be excellent listeners, and alarmingly accurate problem solvers.

As she boarded the shuttle craft to her new home, Ellara silently wished her father well, and hoped the her mother and Lywa were happy, wherever they were.

* * *

 **The title Tears of an Angel comes from the song by RyanDan, which I recommend you listen to. I don't know if it's one YouTube, but it's definitely on Spotify. There's also a girl who sings it, but I don't recommend it, I guess? The one by RyanDan(the original) is the one that I love and that I sort of draw inspiration from. I've obviously written that people compare Ellara to an angel on Rendoria, and that her crying is like heaven weeping, so hence, tears of an angel. It's definitely going to be played upon further on in the story, so it's not just a one-chapter thing. The song may or may not relate to the story, not sure yet.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Published July 25th, 2016. Edited September 1st, 2016 to add A/N at the bottom.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Jonesie Kartrine was a great medic, and an even greater roommate. She always kept her side of the room clean, she was an amazing cook, and she focused too much on her studies to have any boys over. However, that did not mean that she didn't have any faults. Ellara figured this out the day she met the Bolian girl. Jonesie was very academically focused, that was true. So much so that she detested any interruption whatsoever when she was studying. Which was always. When Ellara first walked into her dorm, she received a sharp "shhh!" from Jonesie, and a glare that would have stopped any Klingon in their tracks.

Ellara had spent many hours studying in silence beside her blue friend. She'd even learned how to study better, and the two thrived in their academics. Jonesie would soon be graduating, not as the best medic, but close. Ellara, however, was without a doubt the best counsellor in her class. She just seemed to have a way of helping out others, and understanding their situations.

One situation she empathized well enough was that of her friend Rick Legers. Rick… he was a little bit paranoid. Ellara wasn't sure if that was because he shared a dorm with a man with muscles the size of a bull, and Rick was about the size of a string bean, or if it was because his second cousin, twice removed, was a mass murderer and hadn't been caught yet. On second thought, that was probably why. Either way, every time Ellara saw Rick looking over his shoulder, or chewing on his nails(which was always), she would reassure him that he was alright, nothing was going to happen, and there were security guards everywhere that could intervene should the need arise. Which it wouldn't.

Other then that, though, Rick was a genuinely great guy. He sincerely cared for his friends, and was a phenomenal pilot.

Ellara had some of the best friends she could think of, without a doubt. Jonesie helped her focus on her academia, and Rick allowed her to practice what she was learning in a more everyday setting, while also staying social. She felt as though she was thriving at Starfleet, and Ellara was beginning to move on from her tragedy.

However, she was having some trouble with her other peers. Everyday, she received stares as she walked down the hall, and she received some sort of comment about the marks on her skin on a daily basis. Ellara had tried to communicate with the other members of her species at the school, but they isolated themselves in fear. It was difficult, but she made it through.

Ellara was four years into her education, and would soon be getting her starship assignment. Pressure was being placed on all the students in her grade to get the best marks possible, and the weak were being weeded out. Students could be seen crying, ingesting ridiculous amounts of energy drinks, and sporting bloodshot eyes as they pored over their textbooks. Ellara was not one of those students, though she did feel the increasing pressure being placed upon her. The Rendorian was staying up later and later, and waking up much earlier then before. However, her grades were not dropping, and it seemed as though three years of experience at this, and a hardworking personality were paying off.

At the moment, Ellara was swiping through the pages of a textbook on her PADD, looking for a specific spot. Upon finding it, she let out a small cheer, as she felt some of her stress lighten, and answered the question.

Becoming alert at the sound of the door opening, Ellara looked up and saw Jonesie enter the room, holding a stack of books. "So," the light blue girl began, "I managed to find all of the books I needed, and I even got some for you."

Ellara jumped up, and relieved her of the two volumes she was waving around. She quickly threw an arm around her roommate, and uttered a quick "Thank you."

Jonesie waved her off as she began to set up the things she needed at her own desk. "No problem. You have a lot more riding on this job than I do, so I thought I'd help you out. I've got ya." Jonesie looked at Ellara, and let out a soft smile. "Now, shh, I need to study."

And so, without further ado, the two girls began studying as hard as possible.

* * *

By nightfall, Ellara had gone through the books Jonesie had brought her, and was working through some practice exams she found on her PADD. The older girl had gone down to the library to quiz with another med student, seeing as Ellara would not be much help in that area.

Checking the time, Ellara let out sound of surprise, before beginning to pack up her supplies. She had passed the time she usually set aside to eat, so she would be eating later then usual.

As she finished putting away her supplies, Jonesie returned to their room, and began talking about what had happened at the library. Ellara listened with vague interest, 'hmm'ing and 'mhmm'ing at the appropriate times. Her curiosity was peaked, however, when Jonesie mentioned the Kobayashi Maru. Ellara was aware of what it was; the Kobayashi Maru was a test that all aspiring Captains had to take, which tested them on their ability to function under incredible stress and the knowledge of impending death.

"Apparently that guy that Rick mentioned had nice eyes, James Kirk or whatever, passed the Kobayashi Maru. No one knows how he did it, but apparently the teachers are all furious." Jonesie supplied.

Ellara nodded distractedly, thinking about the event. She had seen the man in question on campus a few times before, and had even been hit on by him. However, a harsh glare had sent him moving on to the next girl. She had known he wasn't as academically focused, but this just seemed extreme. To cheat on the most infamous test of all, and risk expulsion? Ellara was not sure why anyone would do it.

Shaking her head, Ellara walked over to the replicator and made herself and Jonesie something to eat, before the two dived into a passionate discussion of their courses, and the upcoming exams.

* * *

The next morning, Ellara was woken by an alarm on her PADD, and checked it to see that there was a school-wide notification: everyone was to go to the main auditorium at 1200 hours sharp. Seeing that it was only nine-thirty, Ellara got up and began getting herself ready for the day.

After a quick shower, she threw on her uniform and shook Jonesie awake. She wasn't sure how the Bolian was still asleep with all of the noise she had been making, but she shrugged it off. Jonesie sat up, and gratefully accepted the caffeine that Ellara offered her. "You're a saint, you know that?" Jonesie said, closing her eyes at the warmth that spread through her body.

Ellara shook her head, instead taking a sip of her tea instead. She had never really seen the appeal of coffee, and appreciate tea much more. Remembering why she had woken Jonesie up, Ellara turned back to her roommate. "Check your PADD." she prompted.

"Hmm." Jonesie stated simply.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Ellara inquired.

Jonesie rolled her eyes, before answering. "I meant hmm as in I think I know what this is about."

Ellara interrupted Jonesie. "What is it?"

Her roommate glared, before saying, "I was getting to that."

Ellara had the decency to look sheepish. "I think it might be about the Kobayashi Maru, and how that Kirk guy beat it." Jonesie said, taking another sip of her coffee.

Nodding her head, the brunette mirrored Jonesie, and took a sip of her tea. "Makes sense. You cheat on something as big as that, you're bound to be interrogated."

Glancing at the time. Ellara widened her eyes, and nudged her friend. "It's eleven-thirty. Get dressed, we have to go soon."

Jonesie quickly jumped up, although not after some protest, and began to get dressed. "I still hate these uniforms. Even after five years." she muttered, pulling on the ridiculously short blue dress.

Ellara chuckled, and the two began to make their way to the auditorium. They got seated just as the assembly began, and it turned out that it was, in fact, a hearing for one James Tiberius Kirk.

As it was, he faced possible expulsion for activating a subroutine in the Kobayashi Maru, and, in the words of the prestigious Professor Spock, "he cheated."

"Let me ask you something, I think we all know the answer to," Kirk began, and Ellara had to restrain herself from slapping her palm to her face. "The test itself is a cheat, isn't it? You programmed it to be unwinnable."

Professor Spock wasn't even phased as he answered, "Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario."

The hearing was fascinating, Ellara thought, as the logic of the Professor was combatted by the sarcastic wit of the Cadet. She had no doubts in her mind that Kirk would be put in his place, and that the Academy would receive the justice it so rightfully sought. But during the procedure, she wondered if Kirk would manage to crack the cool and critical facade of Professor Spock.

Ellara would never find out. As soon as things began to get riled up, they were interrupted by the abrupt arrival of a redshirt running towards the President of the Academy. The two spoke quietly, before the President turned to the entire student body. "We've received a distress call from Vulcan."

The entire hall erupted into panicked murmurs, but the President continued on. "With our primary fleet engaged in the Laurentian system, I hereby order all cadets to report to Hangar One immediately. Dismissed."

At this, Ellara and her peers stood and began making their way to the shuttle hangar. She glanced at Jonesie as the Bolian slipped her hand into Ellara's, eyes wide. Ellara attempted to reassure her by squeezing her hand, and the two quickly arrived at their destination.

She wasn't sure if Rick was lucky or not to have been away on a field trip, but looking back on it, he was definitely the luckiest of the three friends.

* * *

 **Hey guys! fangirl0012345 here(it hurt not capitalizing the first letter), and this was chapter one of Tears of an Angel! I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you to kiera666 for the review. This chapter was a bit shorter, but I feel semi-confident leaving it off here, haha. On my profile page, I have a sort of detailed description of Ellara and her species(which I made up, unless for some reason I overlooked a specific humanoid race on the Star Trek wiki). If anyone wants, I could write up a more detailed description and maybe slip it onto the end of the prologue as an AN, but I don't see the point of that... at the moment, haha. If anyone is interested in being a beta reader for the story, please PM me, as I am looking for one but have not been successful in my attempts so far.**

 **Updated July 27th, 2016.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

As Ellara and Jonesie walked into the shuttle hangar, Ellara realized how real this was, and that she was actually going to be going on a mission with all of her peers, and that some of them might die. At the sudden thought, Ellara clutched Jonesie's hand tighter.

The two finally found where a woman who was calling out their assignments. "Uhura, USS Farragut, Kartrine, USS Farragut, Lat'toy, USS Enterprise, Petroski, USS Antares. Go to your stations and good luck."

Once the woman had finished speaking, Ellara turned to Jonesie and clutched her tightly. She didn't want her friend to go on a different ship, but she didn't have a choice. "Hey," Jonesie chuckled, stumbling back a bit from Ellara's strength, "It'll be ok. We'll get through this mission, and then meet back up here for graduation."

Jonesie lightly rubbed Ellara's back, and then they heard someone shout that the shuttles would be leaving soon, so Ellara reluctantly let go. The Rendorian rubbed a tear from under her eye and nodded, before starting to turn away.

"Hey Ellara!" she heard, and turned around to see Jonesie grinning at her. "Have fun on the newest ship in the fleet."

Ellara smirked before rushing off. When she reached the shuttle, a man was checking people in. "Lat'toy, Ellara. Good luck up there." he said.

She walked into the shuttle and quickly found a seat near the back. Beside her was a woman with dark skin and long, sleek hair pulled back very tightly. She didn't seem very pleasant, so Ellara elected to look out the window instead, shocked at the beauty of space.

She had seen it before, of course, on her trip from Rendoria VI to Earth. But it was so beautiful. Ellara wasn't sure if she'd ever get over the splendour of space.

It was a relatively short trip, only periodically interrupted by the dramatic moaning of a man on the opposite end of the shuttle. Ellara couldn't see him, but she wished he'd stop. If he couldn't handle a short shuttle trip, why did he even enlist?

When the doors opened, however, all thoughts of nauseous crew members were wiped from her mind. The shuttle bay was enormous, and filled to the brim with Cadets and crew members rushing to their stations. Brushing off her skirt, Ellara exited the shuttle and began making her way to the med bay.

The hallways of the ship were crowded, but Ellara did not have time to focus as she rushed to where she was needed. She could admire the scenery when Vulcan was not in immediate danger.

The med bay was filled with people rushing back and forth, and Ellara was amazed by the organized chaos of it all. Everyone was going in a different direction, and they knew where their destination was. Ellara searched for a minute before spotting her destination. There, at the back of the room, was a door with her name on it.

Ellara walked towards it with a purpose. No one ran into her, and no one spared her a second glance. She opened the door and saw a small couch, a desk, and a potted plant. The walls were a light yellow, and there was a thick carpet on the floor.

The concept of a counsellor on a starship was relatively new, so no one really knew where she should go. Ellara expected that she would have very few patients on this trip, but she hoped that people would take advantage of her services and what she was offering. Ever since she was small, she had loved helping people, and this would be a great way to showcase her passion. She had spent four years learning how to help others and solve their problems, how to listen to them and advise them on what to do while letting them come up with the idea themselves. This was what she wanted to do, and even if she only had one patient in her entire career, she would be happy. Well, maybe not just one patient, but she would be happy.

Ellara quickly got settled at the desk, and glanced at the paperwork on it. A list of crew members with fears that could interfere with their work, crew with PTSD, those who had been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or anything that would affect them seriously in this current situation. She was sure she would be getting a more complete list once she graduated, but for now, this would do. This was the list of people she would check up on as soon as the mission was complete. As Ellara began filling out standard paperwork, there was a knock at her door.

Ellara stood up, straightened her outfit, and walked the short distance to the door. Taking in a deep breath, she opened the door to the confused face of a man not much older then her. She flashed him a bright smile, and stated, "Hello, please come in."

The man glanced in, realized who she was, and rapidly began shaking his head. "I am so sorry, I thought you were the CMO." he clarified.

Ellara's smiled decreased slightly, and she gritted her teeth before leaning out the door and pointing to the room right beside hers. "It's the one with all of the windows. I'm just the counsellor. If you need any help though, don't hesitate to come-" she was cut off by the man muttering a thanks and rushing off. "-knock." she finished, deflated.

Ellara sighed and returned to her desk, leaving her door open. If anyone needed anything, they would see her door was open and would know she was available, and not busy.

There was suddenly a series of chimes, and a young Russian accent flitted across the ship. "May I have your attention, please. At twenty-two hundred hours, telemetry detected an anomaly in the neutral zone. What appeared to be a lightning storm in space." At that, Ellara frowned, wondering how that was possible. The Russian man continued. "Soon after, Starfleet received a distress signal from Wulcan High Command that their planet was experiencing seismic activity. Our mission is to assess the condition of Wulcan, and to assist in the ewacuations if necessary. We should be arriving at Wulcan within three minutes. Thank you for your time." Ellara nodded, albeit to herself, and returned to her work.

In the span of five minutes, the ship had arrived at Vulcan, and the ship was attacked. The explosions that rocked the ship killed the Chief Medical Officer, and placed a man called Leonard McCoy in the position, although he seemed reluctant to accept. Ellara understood that with the attack, many people would be coming in shaken up, but she wasn't sure if she was supposed to go out to meet them, or wait for them to come to her. Once the excitement died down a little bit, she would approach the new CMO and ask if he wanted her to help calm the patients, and request that he direct anyone that seemed particularly shaken up to her.

For now, though, she was content just watching and waiting. She wanted to go out and help, but she knew that her lack of education as a medical officer would render her useless, and she would only help if asked.

* * *

After a few hours of waiting for everything to calm, a cadet she recognized from one of her classes tentatively knocked on the door. Ellara's head shot up, and she shot the young woman a bright smile. "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked, standing and walking around her desk.

The cadet appeared nervous, so Ellara gestured to the couch and said, "Please, take a seat."

The woman appeared apprehensive, but slowly sat down. Ellara took the time to pull her chair around, and sat in front of the blue clad woman. She patiently waited for the cadet to speak, when she finally seemed to muster up the courage. "I… I didn't think it would be this terrifying, seeing the people I know… hurt."

Ellara nodded, and signalled for the cadet to continue, showing she was paying attention. "I've always been really social, so I knew a lot of people in my class. All of the people coming in to the med bay… I know them. I have to watch as my friends get patched up for everything from bruises to a punctured lung. I just didn't think it would be so… horrific." she provided, struggling to stay calm.

There was a small silence as Ellara tried to figure out what to say, but the words soon came to her. "It makes sense that you feel scared, seeing the people you love spread out on a cot in front of you. You're in the middle of space, and the lives of your peers depend on how you act. It's terrifying. But the less scared you are, the more confident you'll be, and the faster you'll be able to help your friends get better. There is always going to be a patient that makes you want to cry, because what you have to fix is just so horrifying, and that they have to experience that is even worse. However, if you swallow that fear, and remember that they want you, they need you to help them, it gets less and less scary, and more and more like a good deed being done. It's another life saved, because you weren't afraid to help. When you enlisted to be a medical officer, it was because you wanted to help people, right?" The young woman nodded. "Your friends are going to come in here with horrible injuries, that's inevitable. They will be hurting, and they will be scared. But even just seeing you looking confident will pacify them, and keep them calm as you go ahead and fix them. And the faster you fix them, the faster you can go back to smiling a laughing with them. Don't be afraid of your friends' pain. Accept that it's there, and embrace that you can help them."

The cadet looked pensive for a moment, before slowly nodding, and said, "Thank you. I'm definitely still afraid, but I understand that…" she swallowed, licked her lips, then looked up into Ellara's eyes. "I understand that my friends need me, and if I am afraid, I won't work properly, and I won't be able to help them."

Ellara smiled, and the two stood. "Thank you for stopping by, Ensign…?" she inquired, searching for the cadets name.

"Ensign Hurst, ma'am. Ensign Jane Hurst." she flashed a small grin.

"Ah," Ellara nodded, "Thank you for stopping by, Ensign Hurst. I hope you save many lives today, and I wish you well."

Jane nodded, and then walked out of the office. As soon as she was out of sight, Ellara let out a huge breath, wondering how she was going to do this.

She shook her head, and returned to her desk to fill out the papers for Ensign Hurst.

* * *

Over the course of a few hours, three more cadets walked through her door. Two were med students, and one was someone from engineering who had almost fell off a railing to their death and was traumatized.

Ellara handled each one with her calm, cool personality, and hoped that she had helped each of the crew members that had come in, at least in some small way.

Finally, after many, many more explosions that rocked the ship, a large flood of Vulcans entered the med bay. The worst injury she saw was a large scrape on someone's cheek, but they seemed relatively unharmed. She was sure that with the recent loss of their planet, they would be seeking someone to speak to, but she watched every one of them enter, and every one of them leave without walking into her office. Ellara was slightly disappointed that they were keeping their grief to themselves, but she respected that they had their own way of handling it.

She began to think of Jonesie, and how the Farragut was doing, but was quickly interrupted by a message from the bridge. "Mister Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to Acting Captain," the suave voice of James Kirk said over the comm, "I know you were all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle station and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down, or they are. Kirk out."

Ellara furrowed her brows, wondering what exactly had happened on the bridge for Commander Spock to become Acting Captain, and then pass on the position to James Kirk, a man whom he'd been visibly displeased with not six hours later. This was going to be a strange experience, Ellara thought. No doubt about it.

* * *

Ellara spent one more hour staring at random notes on her PADD before the Enterprise finally docked. Everyone was ordered off the ship, and told to return to their quarters.

As she was walking through the shuttle hangar, Ellara could have sworn she saw Commander Spock speaking to a man who looked almost identical to the young Vulcan. She brushed it off, though, as she wanted to get back to her room and see Jonesie as soon as possible.

—

When she entered her shared quarters, Ellara was shocked. Sitting on her roommates bed were her parents, crying over a picture of Jonesie. They looked up as Ellara walked in, but went back to the picture just as quickly.

Ellara dropped her bag and rushed over to them. She rubbed a hand on Mrs. Kartrine's back, and watched as the woman began to hold back her sobs. "What is it…" Ellara trailed off, fearing the worst.

"She's… she's not…" Jonesie's mother began crying again, but managed to hiccup, "She's not coming back."

As soon as her fears were confirmed, Ellara's heart stopped. This could not be happening. Jonesie was not dead, she wouldn't believe it. The Bolian had been alive twenty four hours before, she couldn't be dead. How was this possible. Ellara was frozen in shock, wondering why this always happened, why the people closest to her always died. She had lost her mother, she'd lost her… her Lywa, and now Jonesie was gone. She was a Cadet, she wasn't even supposed to be out in space, and now she would never come home.

At the final acceptance that Jonesie would not be coming back, Ellara began to sob. She was crying so hard, her friend's bed was shaking. Mr. Kartrine came around the other side, having gotten himself together, and began to rub her back soothingly as Ellara clutched his wife in sadness. Her neighbours could hear them, could hear the desperate cries for a lost daughter, a lost friend, and tried their best to drown it out. The mother and the girl sounded so pained, so hurt, it was heart wrenching.

Jonesie was dead. Ellara was graduating. And an entire species had just lost their home. Ellara was sure that this was the second saddest day of her life. There was no question.

* * *

 **So, longer chapter. Ellara is beginning to understand her position on the ship, and she's wondering just what she got herself into. There's very minimal contact with the rest of the characters, but I felt as though the timespan of the movie wouldn't really allow for a lot of interaction between Ellara and the others. The main part of the movie takes place in the span of about a day, a very, very hectic day, so there wouldn't be much time for the other characters to come see her, and not much reason for her to visit the bridge and see them. The rest of the movie will probably take place in the next chapter, and then I'll start improvising to make up the time between the first and second movie, and Ellara will finally meet our favourite people. Please leave a review, I am open to constructive criticism(very open), and I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Updated July 28th.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its characters.**

* * *

It was three more months before Ellara graduated, and she spent one month of that time mourning the loss of her friend. Rick had retreated into himself, and become much more anxious than before. He spent most of his time looking over his shoulder, muttering about people coming to get him. He wasn't going to pass his exams.

Ellara threw herself into her studies to distract herself. She had intended to focus her attention on passing her courses, reading her books so that she could forget the pain. Instead, she found that studying made Jonesie's voice ring out in her mind. "Study, sweetie. Talking to people and going to parties isn't going to help you pass your exams."

It should have upset her more, yet it seemed to spur her on. With the voice of her friend encouraging her, Ellara completed her exams with flying colours and became top of her class. She graduated with a position waiting for her on the USS Enterprise. The fleets newest flagship had been repaired, and she now had a room to herself, where she could help others in a quiet, secluded area.

"Lat'toy, Ellara." said the woman standing at the podium.

Walking up to her, Ellara smiled as she shook her hand and accepted her degree. She had finally graduated Starfleet Academy, and could take up her position as a counsellor.

* * *

The new office that Ellara was given was no longer in the med bay. It was on the same level, but it was a few doors down. This room was much more spacious, and featured a more luxurious couch, as well as some plants and a few filing cabinets. Which, after reviewing the files given to her, Ellara realized she would definitely need. The walls were a warm mustard, and there were a few paintings of sunflowers and daisies hanging on the walls. The floor was a light wood, and there were rugs underneath the couches to keep the floor from getting scratched. Spinning around in a circle, Ellara took in her new office and smiled. She could add a few things later, but she loved it.

"May I have your attention, please." the voice of Ellara's new Captain rang out around the ship. "This the maiden voyage of the starship USS Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before. I look forward to our time together. Kirk out."

Ellara grimaced. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about the ship's new Captain, but she was stuck with him either way. He came off as very arrogant to the Rendorian, and didn't seem to understand the phrase "not interested", Ellara rolled her eyes as she though of the antics he'd gotten up to while they were both in the academy, and heaved a deep sigh. This was going to be an interesting trip.

* * *

Two months later found Ellara staring at the very upset form of one Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. The woman had begun visiting Ellara for counselling three weeks into the voyage, and she had been seeing her more and more frequently. Ellara would speak with her twice a week now, and it was always about the same thing. "He blew off our date last night. It was for our one year anniversary! I was very upset, and he didn't even mention trying to make it up." the dark haired woman spoke, exasperated. The apparent negligence of her long time boyfriend, Commander Spock.

Ellara breathed an inaudible sigh, before delivering her own response. "Is it possible that he is still mourning the loss of his mother? I know that you know very well that Vulcans are more emotional then they let on. It's even rumoured they feel more then humans. He could just be grieving her loss, and in doing so, is distancing himself from you." she suggested.

The Lieutenant quickly shook her head, furrowing her brows as she thought. She took a breath, before beginning, "I know it's not that. I keep offering to help, to try and alleviate the pain, but he keeps saying there isn't any. I just… I think he regrets us."

As Ellara went to respond, her patient received a comm from the bridge. "Lieutenant Uhura?" said Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, pilot of the Enterprise.

Uhura shot an apologetic glance at the counsellor, before replying. "Yes?"

"We might have an idea on how to save the natives. The captain is requesting your presence on the bridge." he replied, before closing the comm.

Lieutenant Uhura began to stand, apologizing profusely to Ellara. "I'm really sorry to have to leave like this, it's just…" she began.

Ellara cut her off with a wave of her hand, simply stating, "It's alright. This wasn't a scheduled appointment, so you can leave whenever you want."

Nyota shot her a small smile before turning a leaving. Ellara felt for the tall woman. She was clearly having relationship issues, and with a Vulcan no less. Although the two were both aware that Vulcans felt on a completely different level then humans, they always appeared to be as frigid as an ice planet. Emotional communication, something that was key in human relationships, was much more subtle in those of Vulcans. Uhura was going to have a tough time if she didn't learn to read her boyfriend.

* * *

When Ellara opened the door to the frown of Lieutenant Uhura the next day, she could honestly say she wasn't surprised. "Please, take a seat." she offered, wondering if there was anything new. Uhura accepted, and sat on the couch across from Ellara. She paused for a moment, then decided to lie down on it instead. "So how has your day been?" asked Ellara, trying to get the dark skinned woman to relax.

"Horrible. Spock almost died today." she replied bluntly, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Ellara's head shot up at this information, realizing that this session was going to be much, much different.

She quickly feigned indifference, though, before responding, "Oh really? Care to elaborate?"

Uhura heaved a deep sigh, and began to tell the tale of what had happened on the planet, how Commander Spock had almost been frozen in the middle of an active volcano. She didn't sound too upset that he had almost died, though. She seemed more frustrated about something else, something that Ellara could not guess.

When she had finished her story, Ellara began probing for the problem. "How did you feel, when Commander Spock's life was at risk?" she inquired.

"Terrified, obviously. I don't want to lose him, he means so much to me…" Uhura trailed off.

Ellara realized she would have to push for answers. "But?" she asked.

"But…" Nyota took a moment to think, "But I was more upset that he didn't seem to care about his own life before the life of others. That he didn't care what it would do to me if he died. I felt… forgotten."

This was much more then a simple problem of Spock sacrificing himself, she realized. Today's events were simply the push over the edge of a cliff. Ellara didn't know how she hadn't noticed it in their previous meetings, but it was a lot more obvious now. Lieutenant Uhura felt abandoned. She felt as though the Enterprise's First Officer was placing his work before her. And what's worse was that she was most likely right. Uhura was coming to Ellara for reassurance that this was not the case, that she was just being delusional, but she was without a doubt not imagining the situation, and it was going to hurt when she realized this.

"You should discuss this with him. Let him know how you feel, it might make something wake up in him." Ellara suggested, although she highly doubted it would work. But if Uhura had to find out that her boyfriend was a workaholic, she would have to learn from the man himself.

Lieutenant Uhura sat up and shot the counsellor a smile. "Thanks for the talk." As she made her way to the door, she paused and turned around. "You know, it never feels like you're a counsellor when I'm talking to you. It always feels more like I'm talking to a friend."

On the inside, Ellara was cheering. That was what she strived towards in her sessions; seeming as though she was an old friend that people could open up to. On the outside though, she simply smirked and said, "That's what I strive for."

Uhura laughed before entering the hallway.

And now to have a discussion with the ships' Science Officer.

* * *

Spock wasn't exactly sure why he was sitting in the plush office of the ships counsellor, but yet there he sat. He had never been in this room before, having not needed any counselling. He had, however, seen this woman before. Counsellor Ellara Lat'toy had been commonly discussed amongst the professors in the lounge when she had first arrived at the academy. The first female to attend Starfleet since the Rendorian species had been accepted into the Federation, everyone was curious to see the difference between the two genders. They were, however, disappointed to find out that aside from the ability to produce children, the two were virtually identical. Spock had been meaning to seek out the counsellor to gain information on her species, his thirst for knowledge unending, but any free time had been spent trying to figure out what had caused Lieutenant Uhura to become more distant then before.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when the counsellor cleared her throat, regaining his attention. "Sorry about taking so long, I just had a couple of papers to finish. How is your time on the ship going, Commander Spock?" she began, leaning back in her seat.

Ellara wasn't sure what to think of the man sitting in front of her. He looked Vulcan, he acted Vulcan, hell, he was Vulcan. It would be hard to guess he was still half human. Nevertheless, Ellara was going to get down to the core with this guy.

"My experience on the ship has been… pleasant." the Commander replied, taking time to think of an appropriate response. "How have you found the Enterprise, Counsellor?" he inquired, understanding that this was common courtesy.

Ellara smiled, and said, "I've definitely enjoyed it. But I didn't ask you down here to exchange pleasantries, Commander." She shot him a small smirk. "I called you here to discuss the events of today."

Absolutely no emotion showed on his face, which irritated Ellara to no end. Although she shouldn't blame him, he had spent his entire life being taught to hide what he was feeling. Spock, however, was completely surprised. He was aware of what she was referring to, and was wondering how she knew. It was not private information, but it had happened only twelve hours prior. Did rumours spread that quickly on the Enterprise? He knew that everyone was in the business of others on the ship, but not the this extent.

"I assume you're aware of what I'm referring to, are you not?" she asked, trying to get him to speak a little bit more.

"I am aware." Spock replied.

Ellara nodded, before continuing. "Someone today told me what happened. The reason you're sitting in my office is because I'm wondering how you are. Not a lot of people can have a near death experience and come out completely stable."

Spock finally understood what was going on, and was a little upset. He had a perfect grasp on his emotions, why should this be any difference. "I know what you're probably thinking; that you've spent your entire life controlling your emotions, so why should you be feeling differently now, right?" He was honestly shocked.

"When you see someone else die, it's like a sucker punch to your gut. Emotionally, that is. Although sometimes you feel it physically as well. When you're on the verge of death… I can only imagine what that feels like. I'm assuming there's a great deal of fear, anger, and sadness. But I wouldn't know, of course. I'm not worried that you can't handle this; what I'm worried about is that you lost almost an entire planet not five months ago, right before losing control. I just want to make sure that you really are as alright as you say, that you aren't about to have a complete mental breakdown. That you won't let yourself get to a point that you can't get back from." said Ellara, expressing all of her concerns.

Spock was not sure what to feel in that moment. Insulted that she questioned his ability? Or scared that she seemed to be able to see right through him? Either way, she was waiting for a response, and so he offered one. "I am emotionally stable, counsellor. I will not repeat the actions I committed after the destruction of my planet."

Ellara gave him a sad smile, knowing he probably didn't understand what she meant. But she had badgered him enough; she would let him be. She would be keeping tabs on him though. Make sure that he wasn't overworking himself. Ellara heaved a deep sigh, before telling him that that was all.

Spock was confused at how she let him go so quickly, but nonetheless stood and gave her a quick nod before returning to his quarters. He would definitely be meditating tonight, to try and get her strange questions out of his thoughts.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So, I decided to just go straight to the next movie with this one, because it made a bit more sense to me. Idk why. Sorry for not updating yesterday, I had an event to attend and couldn't finish writing the chapter. I hope that this chapter makes sense. Spock and Ellara finally met, though! Which is awesome. But, uh, the next chapter is going to have her actually interacting with the rest of the characters, I think. She needs to get out of her office, make some friends. There won't really be any attraction until at least the end of the plot of Into Darkness; I don't wanna split Spock and Uhura up prematurely. I am still looking for a beta reader, btw. As always, reviews/constructive criticism are always welcome, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **\- fangrl0012345**

 **Updated July 31st.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

"Counsellor Lat'toy?"

Ellara spun around in a circle, looking for her comm unit. She always seemed to misplace it, and it always got her in trouble. "Counsellor Lat'toy?" said the gruff voice of Chief Medical Officer McCoy, sounding slightly more urgent.

"Aha!" cried Ellara as she grasped her comm in her hand. "I'm here, Doctor McCoy."

"Oh good," he started, an audible chuckle in his voice, "We need you to come down to the med bay asap."

"Oh?" she replied, wincing at the messed up state of her quarters.

She could just imagine his smirk as he confirmed, "Yeah. There's someone here we'd like you to take a look at."

"Be right there." she said quickly, and snapped her comm shut before exiting her room, promising to clean it up later.

It was a short walk to the elevator, but just as the doors were about to close, a cry of "Wait!" was heard. Ellara let out a little groan as she kept the doors open. Ensign Hurst's flushed face rounded the corner, and she quickly joined Ellara. "Sorry." she muttered, catching her breath.

The two descended in an awkward silence, both going to the same place. "So, how's life going?" inquired Ellara, tired of the tension.

Jane jumped slightly in surprise, but soon regained her composure and slowly answered. "It's… going good. I've made a couple of new friends. You?"

At the return of the question, Ellara had to take a moment to think. How was life on the ship? She had told the Commander that she'd been enjoying it, but was that really true? She spent her days doing one of three things; speaking with patients in her office, eating in the mess hall, or being irrevocably bored. She certainly had a ridiculous amount of free time, but hadn't made any new friends. Rick was off on some other older ship, and Jonesie… Ellara quickly banished the thought, not wanting to start crying. It was then that she realized that aside from the people who came to see her, Ellara was without a doubt completely alone. However, the ensign was still waiting for an answer, so she flashed her a smile, and said "It's better then I imagined."

Jane smiled, and the two settled into a comfortable silence. The elevator finally reached their floor, and the two walked side by side to the med bay.

When she walked in, Ellara was met with utter chaos. There were people on almost every single cot in the room, and there were about five doctors huddled around a single man, including the CMO.

Said man glanced toward the door as he heard it open, and he waved Ellara over. "Counsellor Lat'toy, this is… Khan." he said, the name seeming to be a sour taste in his mouth with how he had spit it out.

Khan tilted his head, staring at her curiously. His gaze seemed to penetrate her, analyzing her very being. She did not like this. However, she had to keep up appearances, so she flashed a smile and held out her hand to him.

He stared at it for a moment before grasping it in his own. His large hand seemed to swallow hers, and his grip was borderline painful. She wouldn't let go, though. She wouldn't let him think of her as weak. After a stare contest that seemed to last for years, he let go, and Ellara relaxed, but just slightly. Ellara turned to the good doctor gestured to the opposite end of the room. He seemed to understand her message, and the two crossed over. "What…" she began, crossing her arms, "What am I doing here?"

Doctor McCoy was quick in in his reply. "We need you to see how much of a maniac that guy is. It's bad enough he's on the ship, I don't want him flipping out on my patients. He looks like a bull trapped in a cage meant for a cat, two seconds away from tearing through."

Shooting Khan a quick glance, she could see where he got that analogy from. "Well, he's definitely scary, I can tell you that much. He won't take any form of weakness whatsoever. Probably a superiority complex. Don't let him out of your sight, whatever you do." she supplied.

The Doctor grunted, before saying, "Wasn't planning on it."

The two stared at the tall man sitting on his cot. There were six security guards practically glued to him, but he looked perfectly at ease. As McCoy pondered on the days events, he guessed that this was probably going according to plan for him. But they had a completely different problem to take care of, in the form of the Admiral. How the hell had this been allowed to happen? he thought, realizing that Starfleet was a bigger shit storm then he'd previously assumed.

While Doctor McCoy was reflecting the decision to go into space, Ellara was mulling over her state of being on the ship. She really did have no one. She spoke to her patients, but it was nothing more then to help them feel better. They weren't really having conversations. Ellara spared a glance at the Doctor, and thought about asking him to lunch. Not as a romantic endeavour, of course. The man looked to be about ten years her senior. But she did need some friends on the Enterprise, and what better then someone who had chosen to help others as their career, just like her? Ellara opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, thinking of what to say.

As Leonard watched her flap her mouth like a fish, clearly trying to say something, he rolled his eyes before growling, "Just spit it out."

Ellara was taken aback at his rough nature, but she had noticed it before, so it wasn't going to deter her. "I was just wondering if you'd like to have lunch together at some point, after all of this," she gestured to Khan, "is over."

Seeing him open his mouth, she quickly added on. "I just meant because the only time I've talked to anyone on this ship was for work, and I'm gonna go crazy if I don't make one friend."

Leonard thought about it for a minute. He already ate lunch with a bunch of other people every day, what was one more? "I usually eat lunch with the rest of the bridge crew. You're welcome to join though, if you'd like." he finally answered, sparing a glance at her.

Pondering over his offer, Ellara realized that she was just going to have to go all in. She slowly nodded, before answering, "All right. At noon, yeah?"

He nodded, and the two parted ways. Ellara to her office, and Leonard to wonder just what he was going to do with the mad man in his med bay.

* * *

This was the second time in one day that Ellara had been called out of her office. It had been about five hours, and the ship had taken a ridiculous amount of damage. The potted plant on her desk had almost fallen off approximately five times, and she'd dropped her PADD ten times. No one had come to see her yet, but it made sense, seeing as everyone was manning their post. So when the voice of Doctor McCoy once again rang out of her comm, she practically rushed down to the med bay.

Sitting on a cot was a blonde woman who was in complete hysterics. Her leg appeared to have been snapped, and she wouldn't stop sobbing and shaking, so none of the doctors could get close to her.

Ellara sighed, realizing that this was going to be a tough one. Looking at the clipboard at the edge of her bed, she saw 'Marcus, Carol' written on it, and assumed that was her name. When she approached her bed, Ellara let out a tentative, "Carol?"

Carol looked towards Ellara, rocking back and forth. She had her attention. "Carol, my name is Ellara. Can you tell me what's wrong?" she asked, hoping that the woman was comprehending her.

"My father…" she rasped out. Ellara quickly handed her the water beside her bed, and Carol took a drink, before continuing. "I just watched my father have his skull crushed in after learning he was not the person I thought he was."

Ellara's eyes widened as she took in what the woman was saying. She slowly moved to stand by Carol, and gently grasped her in her arms, rocking her back and forth as she let out small comforting noises. Carol was sobbing, and she clutched to Ellara like she was a lifeline. It wasn't until Ellara started purring and petting her hair that Carol finally began to calm down. When Ellara felt her go slack, she realized she had fallen asleep, and gently placed her back on the bed. "Probably the adrenaline in her system wearing out." she told the doctor, who simply nodded and went to work.

As Ellara began to make her way to the door, McCoy grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Mind checking out some of the other patients in here before you leave?" he asked, sounding exhausted.

She nodded, and began to walk around the room. Most of the patients had already been tended to, and were either asleep or speaking with a friend. Every once in a while, she'd find someone just staring at the wall, and she'd talk to them. Once they'd started acting a little less catatonic, she'd tell them her door was always open if they wanted to come see her afterwards. She only found one person crying, but after seeing the still body on the bed opposite him, Ellara left the man to mourn.

After making her way around the room twice, Ellara quietly slipped out, and returned to her office.

* * *

The events surrounding Khan and Admiral Marcus were arriving to a close. Captain Kirk had reportedly woken up, and the Enterprise was in repair. All was right with the world. Or was it?

Ellara was biting her nails, waiting for the message saying she could return to the Enterprise. She knew that there would definitely be some psychological damage with some of the crew, and couldn't wait around knowing it was probably getting worse every day. At least, that's what she told herself. In all honesty, she just needed a reason to stay away from Earth, from her apartment. Because when she had nothing to do, she started thinking. And when she started thinking, she started remembering all those she'd lost. Jonesie, taken just before graduating. Her mother, killed before she could see her daughter grow up. Lywa, taken… No! Ellara banished the thoughts before she started freaking out again. Every time she went… there… she would start shaking, and then she would start crying, and finally she would scream. It always ended up like that.

Luckily, she was brought back from her painful thoughts at the sound of a ding coming from her PADD. Ellara nearly cried in relief. She was allowed back on, and they would be leaving soon. She knew what to expect this time, however, and quickly packed up some decorations for both her office and her quarters. She glanced around at her apartment one last time before locking the door and leaving.

* * *

 **So, this chapter was little bit shorter. Ok, it wasn't even 2,000 words without the authors note and that pisses me off a little bit, but this seemed like a good place to leave off, and my creative juices have run out for the night. I'm gonna post this one as soon as I finish typing this AN though, just so I can make up for like three days of no updates. I think every other day is a good updating schedule, yeah? Anyway, Ellara met McCoy in this chapter, and she'll be meeting the rest of the crew next chapter, I hope. Think. Idk yet I'll see where my writing takes me. I know how I want the story to go, I'm just trying to focus on actually writing well haha. I also just realized I did like two movies in four chapters which should be a big no no except let's be honest, the bulk of both movies takes place in the span of about a day, so, yeah... And she's not even in the main part of the action. There should be much more... interaction, soon though. So, as usual, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I am always open to constructive criticism, and I'm also still looking for a beta reader!**

 **.129: I'm planning on it haha.**

 **ToBeOrNotToBeAUNICORN: I love your username. And thank you!**

 **Airasey19: Thank you so much! That's so nice to hear!**

 **ILoveThee: Honestly I don't know yet... I have an idea, though. And that's good to hear!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 1st, 2016.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Ellara had spent a week back on the ship before she decided to finally make her way to the cafeteria. Well, at least, the make her way there at noon. She had spent the past seven days eating either an hour earlier or later to avoid seeing Doctor McCoy and his group of friends. Ellara was trying to test out staying alone, to avoid making new friends she could lose, but decided against it when her bedroom wall started looking like good company.

So there she was standing, staring at the large amount of Ensigns, Commanders and Lieutenants sitting around in the cafeteria on their breaks. Ellara was looking around for the Doctor when she felt a large hand clap down on her shoulder. "Counsellor Lat'toy." said the doctor.

She turned around, shock settling in as she saw the large amount of people that had come with him. There were at least six, all of them looking for a free table. Once one was spotted, they collectively walked towards it and sat down with their meals. Ellara was staring at them, fear overtaking her mind. Leonard sense her fear, and felt her start to move backwards under his hand, so he clamped down tighter. "Come on, kid. Let's go sit down." he suggested, beginning to lead her to his group.

Bones cleared his throat, catching the attention of the bridge crew and Scotty. "Guys, this is Counsellor Lat'toy." he started. "She's gonna be sitting with us today. Be nice." he directed the last part with a glare at Jim. The damn bastard only smirked.

Ellara spied Lieutenant Uhura out of the corner of her eye, and Commander Spock right beside her. As Doctor McCoy moved to sit beside the Captain, Ellara quickly took the empty seat beside the couple. After a few beats, conversation began to flow, and Ellara kept her head down as she ate. "So, Counsellor Lat'toy." spoke the suave Captain.

She glanced up and gave him her attention. "Have you got a first name?" the Captain asked, leaning back in his seat and smirking.

Ellara quickly nodded before muttering out her name. "Ell-ar-a." he sounded out, leaning into her personal space. Ellara moved backwards a little bit, not used to such an invasion.

"Jim." Bones warned, reprimanding his friend. Ellara had only just joined them; he didn't want her to be scared off.

"What?" Jim complained, knowing exactly what he'd done. He just wanted the new girl to feel included, and he was pretty enthusiastic when it came to how he expressed himself.

An awkward settled over the table as everyone struggled to pick up their previous conversations. Ellara examined the faces of each of the crew members, noting how uncomfortable they looked, and couldn't help but assume that it was due to her presence. Just as she was about to get up to leave, a man who'd introduced himself as Scotty Montgomery addressed her with a question of his own. "So, lassie, what made you choose to be a counsellor?"

Ellara blinked a couple of times, not expecting a question like that. She took a few moments to reflect on exactly why she'd chosen the career in the first place before answering. "Well, I actually came up with the idea when I was about eighteen. All of Rendoria was ecstatic because we'd heard the rumours that we would be joining the Federation soon. At that point in time, I didn't even know what I wanted to do with my life. Usually when a member of my race is conflicted, we go to see a High Priest or Priestess. So, I followed tradition and did. I never was able to ask my question, though. One of the new Priestess' was freaking out because she couldn't handle the voices in her head. She was standing on a ledge in her bedroom, trying to muster up the courage to jump off. When I got there, the others practically pushed me towards her to help. I visited frequently, you see. So, anyways, they pushed me towards her, because I had helped her before, and it took about an hour, but I managed to calm her down and get her off the ledge. And once I had her safely in my arms, she looked at me, and just said, "I don't know how you do it, but I swear you're better at helping people then I ever could be." and then passed out from the shock. And that's when I knew I wanted to help people. Because helping her had brought me so much joy, to know that I had changed her life, at least a little bit."

At the end of her tale. the entire table was looking thoughtfully at the Rendorian girl. Noticing this, Ellara hid her face a little bit, not used to so much attention.

"Hang on a second," the Captain started, looking confused. "Why were you always there?"

Ellara's breath caught in her throat as she remembered the nature of her visits. She couldn't tell them. She couldn't tell anyone. Mourning wasn't supposed to last for so long, this wasn't something they needed to know. Ellara, blinking back tears, quickly got up and muttered an apology, saying she had to get back to work. Everyone stared at her retreating form, confused. "Well, good job Jim. Ya chased her away." Bones growled out.

Kirk looked back and forth, confused at how he'd offended her. "That was really weird." Chekov chipped in, before promptly returning to his food.

"I gotta agree." Sulu added, wondering just what was up with the new counsellor.

"That was quite peculiar." Spock said, turning to McCoy to ask her about Ellara. "Do you have an idea as to why Counsellor Lat'toy would be sensitive to the subject of visiting the High Priests and Priestess' of Rendoria VI?"

Bones shook his head, not really sure what was up with Ellara. Standing up, he finally said, "I'm not sure what's going on with her. I'll ask her about it next time I see her."

Bones left the table, leaving the others to reflect upon what had just happened.

* * *

On the opposite end of the ship, Ellara was curled up in the corner of her room, teetering on the edge of a full blown breakdown. She had her knees hugged up to her chest, and was rocking back and forth. She shouldn't have started talking about them, she should have just lied and said she always knew, why couldn't she tell that this would have happened? As she finally let loose the sobs she had been holding back, Ellara wondered what her mother would say if she saw her like this. Would she comfort her, or would she reprimand her for not getting over their deaths? She had a feeling that if her father had remained more active in her life, she wouldn't have been like this. She wouldn't fall to pieces every time she even thought of her mother and her beloved.

Ellara quickly shook that thought away. This wasn't her fathers' fault. He suffered an even greater loss that day, he had to work through his own troubles. But that still didn't change the fact that Ellara was sobbing in her room at people she had lost almost ten years ago.

* * *

It took another fifteen minutes for Ellara to calm down, and another ten to clean herself up. Once she had approved her appearance in her mirror, she slowly began making her way to her office, regaining her mental stability.

When she finally arrived, Ellara found Lieutenant Uhura waiting for her. "Lieutenant Uhura, how are you?" Ellara asked, gesturing for her to enter the room.

Uhura walked in, and quickly took her usual spot. "I'm alright, I guess."

Ellara frowned, wondering why the woman seemed extremely anxious. She slowly made her way to her chair, thinking of what to say. "Tell me, Uhura, what's wrong?"

The Lieutenant took a deep breath, before opening her mouth to speak. There was a short pause, where she just stared, before she finally spoke, "I think… I think I need to break up with Spock." She looked up, tears shining in her eyes as she shook her head. "I don't want to do this. I love him, but this relationship is doing me more harm then good."

Ellara nodded, considering what Uhura had said. "Is this what you believe is necessary?" she asked.

Lieutenant Uhura though for a moment, evaluating her reasoning. "I'm not sure. I want to be happy, I just don't know if it's with him.

"Well, why don't you ask him to come with you and see me, so I can talk to the both of you, and we can discuss this." Ellara suggested.

Uhura nodded slowly, before getting up to leave. "Thank you for seeing me today, Ellara. And I'm sorry about what happened during lunch."

Ellara blanched, remembering what had happened. "I-it's alright. I'll see you soon." she shooed the Lieutenant out, before quickly closing the door and sinking down against it. This would be interesting

* * *

 **So, this chapter wasn't even 2,000 words which really pisses me off, and it's four days late, but I started a new tv show... my attention was grabbed I'm sorry. So, I greatly apologize for that. If it happens again, I'll probably just try and make the updates weekly rather then every other day, which tbh is a much better idea... So, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, still looking for a beta, any constructive criticism is encouraged.**

 **Zephyr169: Thank you for that. The perspectives thing was mostly because everyone always follows the movies haha... And here it is lol.**

 **booklover1798: Thank you so much!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 5th, 2016.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

The next day, Ellara was woken from her nap when a sharp knock sounded at her door. She groggily mumbled out incoherent babbles while she fixed her hair and wiped the drool from her chin. Ellara stood up and slowly made her way to the door, steeling herself before opening it. Behind that door were Lieutenant Uhura and Commander Spock. "Ah. What a pleasant surprise." she exclaimed, knowing full well why they were there. It was noon, therefore their lunch break, and she had told the Lieutenant to drop by less then twenty-four hours ago.

"I do not believe that to be true, Counsellor, as Lieutenant Uhura told me you had suggested the both of us come for an appointment." the Commander said, professional as ever.

Ellara chuckled, gesturing for the both of them to take a seat. "I've told Nyota dozens of times, I'm not against telling it many more. Please, call me Ellara. At least Ms. Lat'toy. Counsellor makes me feel like I'm some dusty old man."

"Very well," Spock nodded, "I do not believe that to be true, Ms. Lat'toy."

A small smile graced Ellara's face, and she began. "It's true, I did ask Uhura to bring you here for an appointment, however I believe she would be the best person to explain why."

Looking towards Uhura, Ellara nodded once, letting her know she should go ahead. Nyota took a deep breath, turning to face her boyfriend. "Spock," she started, taking a moment to think over her words. "Ellara felt the need to ask this of us because I told her…" Uhura paused, breathing deeply. "I told her that I was considering ending the relationship.

When Spock heard these words, his breath caught in his throat. He could not believe that Nyota had just said that, that she had been in so much distress she felt the need to end the relationship and he had not noticed or tried to help. "What made you consider that?" he asked, voice cracking a little bit.

"I feel like you aren't putting as much effort into this relationship as before. That you don't love me anymore." Uhura answered, tears beginning to spring in her eyes.

"Why do you feel that way, Nyota? Is there something I can do to change that?" Spock said, slightly quieter then before.

Uhura slowly thought it through before answering. "You've blown off our date nights for the past few weeks, and you're never back to say goodnight to me anymore. You're burying yourself in your work and forgetting me."

Spock was honestly shocked. He had not noticed what he was doing, he was so caught up. He had no idea that Nyota felt this way, and Spock was upset he had drove her to such extremes. "I am sorry, Nyota. I did not realize that I had been doing such." he explained, gazing deep into her eyes. "I will make more of an effort now that I know."

Uhura smiled at Spock, and all seemed well. "There we go, problem sort of solved, if you have any…" Ellara trailed off once she saw the Lieutenant shaking her head, her smile having become sad.

"It won't help, Spock, and you know it. It's just going to happen again. This isn't meant to be. Between yesterday and today, I've had time to think, and I've realized that even before you stopped showing up, I was unhappy. This relationship isn't going to work anymore, and I think," she took a breath to collect herself. "I think it's over."

Spock wanted to cry out, to scream at the counsellor for meddling, to tell Nyota how much he loved her, but he did not. He did not because this is was she wanted, it was what she was asking for, and because he loved her, he would let her go. Spock would respect her wishes. So, he gave her a slight nod and said, "If that is what you want, very well."

Uhura nodded, slowly reaching over and hugging him. "Goodbye, Spock." she whispered in his ear, taking in his scent one last time.

Spock didn't say anything, in fear of what would come out of his mouth.

Lieutenant Uhura let go, bid Ellara goodbye, and left. Spock did the same shortly thereafter. Ellara took a deep breath, sinking down into her seat. That was not how she expected that to go. She honestly thought that they could fix their problem. Ellara quickly shook her head. It was done, it was over, and there was nothing more to be said.

* * *

When Ellara went for dinner that evening, she almost walked right out of the cafeteria at the sight that she beheld. Sitting in the middle of the room was the entire bridge crew. Spock and Uhura were also there, although they were at opposite ends, contrary to when she last sat with them and they practically couldn't stay apart. The tension was very clear at the table, as everyone kept shifting in their seats, and the conversation wasn't very invigorating. As she went to turn around, Doctor McCoy caught sight of her and waved her over.

Sighing, Ellara walked towards the large group and took a seat next to a man she was certain was called Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu. She extended her hand towards him, and introduced herself. The two began a pleasant conversation about the ship, discussing the events that had happened, until he mentioned that he was good in martial arts. Ellara brightened considerably, and the two began comparing fighting styles. Sulu was telling her about Earth's martial arts, and Ellara was telling him about Rendoria's wild attack method. The two quickly set a date to spar, promising to use their own methods and to teach each other afterwards.

"When did you learn how to fight?" Ellara asked, wondering how much experience her opponent would have.

Sulu chuckled, taking a bite of his food. He swallowed before answering, "I started learning when I was thirteen, I think. What about you?"

Ellara blanched slightly at the question, remembering when and why she had learned. She realized that Lieutenant Sulu was still waiting for an answer, and decided it would be for the better to talk about it. "My uh… My dad made sure I had the best teacher after my mom died. I was sixteen."

Everyone who had been paying attention quickly looked away, and Sulu fumbled for words. "Listen, I am so sorr-"

Ellara waved off his apology, saying, "Please, I've heard that enough times. I practically invited the question." She let out an awkward chuckle, and quietly returned to her food, ending the conversation.

Looking around inconspicuously, she saw that she had left the table feeling more tense then before. She groaned internally, knowing that she'd have to fix it. Ellara glanced at her table mates, trying to find someone who'd be easy to start a conversation with. She spotted the man- well, more like boy- sitting next to Sulu who seemed to be easygoing. All she remembered from his name was Chekov. His shirt placed his rank as Ensign, with the colour indicating command and helm. She thought up of a random question, and then turned to him to ask. "So, Lieutenant Chekov, what's your role on the ship?" she strived to sound as lighthearted as possible, knowing her accent could make her seem slightly condescending.

That was a problem Rendorians had when speaking to humans. Their accent, while not very thick, tended to make them sound like they felt superior to others. Ellara had figured this out early on, when people scoffed at most of what she said, so she had practiced with Jonesie to attempt to make her sound more happy. It had worked; people stopped scoffing, and they instead admired her accent. It had started to slip a little, however. The lack of people to talk to had made her lose practice, so she had to really force to speak normally. She wouldn't want to sound condescending to Chekov; he was most likely in his very early twenties, and clearly the groups little gem, someone they wanted to protect. It wouldn't win her any favours to sound rude.

At hearing her question, Chekov perked up, and began explaining his many duties aboard the ship. Ellara only listened halfheartedly, nodding and 'mhmm'ing appropriately. She sneakily glanced at the rest of the table, and saw that the tension had clearly diffused. The corner of her lip raised slightly, happy that her plan had succeeded.

Ellara looking around the entire cafeteria, noting the other people milling around. The longer she looked, the more she noticed that a few specific people were sending glares her way. Ellara frowned, wondering what she had done to deserve their hatred. She turned back around, confused, and then took in the fact that she had no more food. Her frown deepened, remembering that she had had at least an apple left. She glanced at the people at the table once again, and saw the Captain eating her apple, smiling cheekily. Ellara raised one of her eyebrows, and quickly swiped the banana from his tray. Kirk's face erupted in surprise, not having expected that. Ellara got up and started walking away slowly. "Bye, Doctor McCoy. Thanks for waving me over."

Ellara left the cafeteria and made her way to her quarters, chewing thoughtfully on her banana. She reminisced on the days events, how she had split a couple that was subject to much gossip. Stopping in her tracks, she remembered that the people glaring at her in the cafeteria were the people she often heard gossiping. Ellara rolled her eyes, disappointed at their immature behaviour. If they confronted her, she'd make sure to give them a piece of her mind, and remind them that the private lives of a Lieutenant and a Commander, whose ranks were above theirs, were exactly that; private.

When she reached her room, she basked in the smell of the candle she had lit that morning. It was a scent only found on Rendoria, and one that was used very often in her home. She had a whole box full, as when her father wasn't away for work, he was making candles for some extra funds. With the lack of a second income, the quality of their lifestyle and home had decreased. He had often made candles for their family before Ellara's mother died, getting only praises. When he began making them to sell, they had a bit more money for some of the things they used to enjoy. Ellara and her father were by no means poor, but they weren't swimming in cash either. They were walking that fine line right in the middle.

Before Ellara had left, her father had taken a specific candle to one of the High Priests to have it blessed to give her good luck. That was the candle she pulled out now, as she got ready to sleep. Once she was changed and she had gotten washed, Ellara kneeled beside her candle. She placed her right hand on her left shoulder and vice versa, crossing her arms in front of her. She began muttering a small chant, alerting the gods that she was about to begin praying. Ellara said her usual prayer, wishing luck on her family and friends, and asking for love and fortune in her future. Before she blew out her candle, however, Ellara hesitated. She closed her eyes, and quickly muttered, "Please, my Gods, help me get over the death of my mother and my beloved. It has been nine years, and it still hurts just as much as the day they died. I am tired of mourning, but I don't know what to do. I do not have any priests or priestesses to help. Please, guide me."

Ellara bowed her head, and then blew out the candle. She uncrossed her arms as she stood up before crawling into her bed. "Computer, turn off lights." she said.

The lights shut off, and Ellara descended into a restless sleep.

* * *

 **So that's chapter six! I hope you guys enjoyed, this one clearly took me a bit longer to write. I'm definitely making the updates once a week, though. So, hopefully the updates will be a bit more regular. I am, as always, looking for a beta reader, so if anyone's interested, please PM me. This chapter showed the religious side of Ellara at the end. I personally am not religious whatsoever, but it just seems to fit in with the Rendorian lifestyle. Yeah, so now Spock and Uhura are split, which leaves Ellara open for the kill. Except not really because she's only spoken to him twice and barely even thinks of him as an acquaintance lol. Also, really quick, I keep mentioning that it's been about ten years since her mom and fiancé died. It was mentioned in this chapter as being nine since she was sixteen, and in another as being about ten(rounding)... can anyone guess why? Kudos to whoever does and comments on it! Definitely a slow burn. To reiterate, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll talk to you at the end of chapter seven!**

 **booklover1798: Nice to see you comment twice, that was a nice bonus. And honestly, I kinda modelled that part of her character after me, mostly because I don't really know how to be outgoing lol. And here is the update haha!**

 **ZabuzasGirl: Thank you so much.**

 **the Guest: *smashes cup on the floor of a cafe* Hehe. Sorry, that just reminded me of Thor.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: First of all, your username is a+++. Second, yeah, I am trying to take it slow because a lot of stories make it a sort of "I saw him and then I loved him". Not that I don't mind those haha. I just prefer knowing someone first. And thank you so much!**

 **.129: Another person that commented twice! It really is nice to see people enjoy it enough to keep reading haha. But that's good to hear, I enjoy knowing you guys like where I'm taking the story. I'm also open to suggestions if you have an idea for something that needs to be done, btw.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 11th, 2016.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Ellara was woken abruptly the next morning to frantic beeps from her comm. She groaned in irritation before flipping it open and growling out, "What?!"

"Counsellor Lat'toy, could you please come to the bridge." came the voice of Lieutenant Sulu.

Ellara sighed, rolling her eyes at the vague answer. "I'll be there in five minutes." she replied, hopping out of bed and walking to her bathroom.

Looking in the mirror, she was greeted with a terrifying sight. Her hair was sticking up everywhere, and she had huge bags under her eyes. Ellara let out another large sigh before getting to work on fixing her appearance.

Once she was dressed and looked relatively Rendorian again, Ellara rushed out of her room to the elevator up to the bridge. It was a relatively short ride, one in which she slapped herself multiple times to stay awake. When she arrived, she found the Captain, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Sulu huddled around a table. The Captain glanced up at her arrival, and his face spread out in a large grin. "Counsellor, please, come on over." he gestured to the table.

Ellara apprehensively walked over, not entirely sure she trusted him just yet. Captain Kirk waved his hand at the map the others were looking at, and she was shocked to find the layout of the Zellphori sector. "What is this?" Ellara asked cautiously, confused as to what was going on.

"We've just received a message from command. They want us to visit Rendoria." Kirk supplied, the stupid grin still on his face.

Ellara raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue. He didn't seem to notice, so she prompted him further. "Why am I here then?"

This time it was Commander Spock who spoke up. "The Captain believes it would be beneficial to have you on the away team, as you are the only one on the ship who knows what it is like on Rendoria Six."

"And I don't know how to speak Rendorian, unfortunately." Uhura chipped in, disappointed at her lack of knowledge in the language.

Ellara made a mental note to ask her if she wanted to be taught after this whole debacle was over. "What's the mission?" she questioned, wanting to know why it was so important.

Rendoria VI wasn't really known for having anything precious, or worth a lot of money. That was one of the two reasons that they didn't do much trade outside of their own planet. They had all they needed. The other was that most of Rendoria hated outsiders, and would rather fight their own kind then speak civilly to anyone else.

"We're just supposed to check up on each of the sectors, see if they need anything from the Federation, and make sure the planet isn't violating any rules. It's still new to the Federation, so things like this are usually expected in the first few years." Kirk answered, shifting from being happy to much more serious.

Nodding once, Ellara thought over what she knew. "Zellphori is probably going to have a few violations. They hated the entire idea, and have been trying to spark a rebellion. They might try to find a new planet soon," she scoffed, remembering how many times they had had to relocate an entire civilization due to Zellphori's stupidity. "The Galleck sector might have a few small ones; they usually try to avoid everyone, and don't really care about anything unless it impacts them harshly. Same with people in the Leurielle sector, my home. The Yantaro sector will be ridiculously proud that the Federation is visiting, and absolutely everything will be up to code. They were really happy when Rendoria joined."

The Captain took in the information, frowning. "And the one we're looking at now…?" he let the unasked question hang.

"That's the Zellphori sector." Ellara answered, glancing around the terrain. Her eyes landed on a small town, so inconspicuous no one else would see it, but she quickly looked away. Not there.

Captain Kirk sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well, that's where we're going first. Get the worst part over with. Is there like a leader or a president of each sector?" he asked, looking increasingly frustrated.

It struck Ellara how little Starfleet knew about her home planet. She supposed it had to do with their closed nature, and the stubbornness to accept the Federation in the southern sectors. Ellara would have to guide them through it with a ridiculous amount of patience, then. "Each town has a leader, and they all convene at a designated city when they need to meet. You're going to have to send a mission to High Command in the Middle. They take care of all the meet ups and outside visitors."

When Ellara looked up, she saw everyone around the table staring at her with varying degrees of confusion. Rolling her eyes, Ellara zoomed out on the map, and pointed to a giant circle in the Middle. It was located where all the sectors met. There was one on the other side of the planet as well, but that one was where the High Priests and Priestesses were raised before they were old enough to contribute to society. She pointed at High Command, saying, "They're the ones you need to talk to. They'll then send a message to all the leaders of the Zellphori sector, telling them where they need to meet up. The leaders will then beam to the city hall in the aforementioned town, which is where we'll beam down. That's how it works."

The Captain clapped his hands, the grin returned to his face. "Alright. Uhura, if you would?" he gestured to the Lieutenant, who quickly rushed to her station to open a comm link.

"Ellara, I might need you to translate." Kirk said. "And talk." he quickly added on.

Ellara sighed, really not enjoying how her morning was going. She moved to stand beside the Captain as the face of a member of High Command appeared on screen. "I'm Captain James Kirk of the starship Enterprise." he introduced himself, his face appearing professional once again.

"I am Linder of High Command. What is your request?" the man on screen asked, looking bored.

"On behalf of the Federation, we'd like to have a meeting with the leaders of the Zellphori sector." the Captain said.

Linder perked up, clearly interested. "Right away, sir. Just give me a moment to find a town…"

He frowned at something on the computer beside him, before saying, "If you'd please beam down to Neutris, you'll find everyone you need there."

The Captain nodded, and the comm link closed. "See, that wasn't so hard." he exclaimed, before catching the ashen look on Ellara's face.

At hearing the name of the town, Ellara had begun to shake her head. "Not there, anywhere but there." she muttered, looking from the Captain to the black screen.

"Hey hey hey, it's alright. You can do this." he said, rubbing her arm, although he wasn't sure what was wrong.

Ellara swallowed, before nodding and mumbling her quiet acceptance.

The Captain nodded as well before sending everyone off to get ready. They would meet in the transporter room before beaming down to Rendoria.

Ellara practically ran to her room, eager to get out of the curious gazes of the crew. This wasn't going to be pleasant. Once she was in her quarters, she pulled out her Starfleet issued uniform and got changed. As counsellor, it wasn't necessarily required of her to wear a uniform, and she found the civilian clothes made her seem friendlier. Unless the Captain were to tell her to stop, she would continue on doing so.

Making her way to the transporter, Ellara felt a strange sort of excitement. She supposed it had to do with the fact that her colleagues would soon be seeing where she came from, and it was giving her a sense of pride.

With a soft smile, Ellara stepped onto the pad as she heard the Captain say "Energize."

* * *

 **So, chapter seven, finally finished. Not gonna lie, the update once a week thing is much easier to do, and will definitely be more helpful once school starts up again. This chapter is a bit more of a filler, with just the announcement of where Ellara and the bridge crew were headed. Personally, I have no idea if Starfleet checks up on its planets after they join, but it seems like a good idea. And it gives me the excuse to write about Rendoria haha. We're definitely gonna see her dad soon, not in the next chapter, but the one after that. Gotta have some father/daughter bonding time. BTW, the timing of the visit and other... things... mentioned are intentional. There is a reason this is happening right now, and it's very important. Also, I'm still wondering if anyone's gonna figure out why I've dropped hints about it being ten years. Like, idk if it's either extremely painfully obvious or no one knows. Either way, some very big things happening soon. Also, a little bit of Spock/Ellara action coming up, but not too much. We're going to see a very different side of her next chapter. :) So, I hope you enjoyed, still looking for a beta haha, please leave a comment or some constructive criticism, it's always welcome, and I can't wait to post the next chapter!**

 **Also: to pearl. clark. 129 Every time I try to write your name all together, it just automatically goes to .129, idk why, so very sorry about that.**

 **Zephyr169: That's so great to hear, and honestly, I always look forward to writing these.**

 **booklover1798: You'll have to wait and see. The little rascal, haha!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Thank you, thank you. Haha nice. And that's great to hear!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 18th, 2016.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

 **Warning: A ridiculous amount of gore appears in this chapter. I'll mark where it starts and ends for those who don't wish to read it, just in case.**

* * *

The away team appeared on the planet, taking in the sights offered to them. The cobblestone streets were dusty, the buildings dilapidated, and a faint scent of copper hung in the air. Zellphori was all in all an unpleasant place. A man approached them fairly quickly, and began speaking in quick Rendorian to the Captain. Everyone looked to Ellara, who translated. "He welcomes us to his town, and wants us to follow him to the town hall." she explained, malice obvious in her tone.

Electing to ignore her hatred, Kirk smiled and nodded as they all began to follow the portly official. Commander Spock began asking Ellara various questions about their surroundings. He finally posed the one that had been burning in his mind, however. "Why would the official from the Middle know English, when this leader does not?"

It was an honest question, and one that Ellara was pleased to answer. "Unlike most quadrants, Zellphori hates outsiders. As such, they don't want to learn any other language, making interspecies communication difficult. You'll find people know various other languages in Galleck, Yantaro, the Middle and Leurielle. Zellphori is very, very behind the times." At the finally statement, Ellara gestured to the buildings around them.

Spock had to admit that there was very little effort put into keeping this town up to a healthy and safe standard. He still wondered why Ellara had seemed so anxious at the prospect of visiting, but he assumed that whence was able to explain, she would. After all, the two were still barely acquaintances. When he turned to look at said woman, he found that she was answering Ensign Chekov's rapid questions with ease.

Their conversation was interrupted, however, when the towns leader opened the door to a very well maintained structure. It had foreign letter written at the top, which he assumed read "Town Hall", or something of the sort. Inside, they were lead to a smaller room with an oblong table in the middle. Surrounding it were men and women in various stages of anger. No one was yelling, however there were quiet murmurs being exchanged, as well as some harsh glances sent towards Counsellor Ellara. The man leading them cleared his throat, and everyone quickly took their seats.

The Captain gestured towards Ellara to translate before beginning to speak. "The Federation has sent us here to, well, check up on the Rendorians. To make sure that you aren't violating any codes or rules. If you'll open your packets, we'll review them and make sure everything is running smoothly, and according to standard."

As he went to open his own packet, a rather angry looking man at the back raised his hand slightly. The Captain nodded towards him, signalling to him that he was listening. With a rough accent, the man spoke. "Why should we follow Federation rules? We don't want them."

A murmur of agreement passed through the other leaders, and eyes turned expectantly to Kirk. "Your planet is a part of the Federation, wether you like it or not. I don't mean any disrespect, but you are one quarter of the planet. If you didn't like the idea, you should have done something about it. Now let's get back to the meeting."

Ellara looked apprehensively towards her fearless leader as she translated, taking in the angered body language of her people. She knew that they wouldn't appreciate being called out, but as they did as they were told, Ellara realized that it had done the trick. Filthy spineless creeps.

The meeting went as smoothly as possible with disgusting scumbags in the room, and as time wore on, Ellara became more and more agitated. She disliked being in the presence of these Zellphoriens almost as much as they hated her people for being more civilized. By the end of it, she had been spat at twice and had to hold in her rage dozens of times. This was not an appropriate place to get upset, and it would do none of them any good for her to fly off of the handle.

At last, it was over, and the minute they had left Ellara cried, "Good riddance!" to the heavens. The rest of the crew regarded her with curiosity in their eyes, but she payed them no mind. She was too distracted by the chuckling man who had begun to walk closer and closer to her. "Hey there, pretty thing." he said, reaching out a hand to stroke her cheek.

She jerked away, and that's when the crew noticed her disgusted expression. They made a move to approach, but the man pulled out a knife and held it to Ellara's throat. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't wanna upset me. Now, the lady and I are going to have a little duel. Haven't been many people from the Leurielle sector lately. I could do with knocking another selfish aristocrat off the planet."

The man from the Middle who had been with them quickly stepped in the middle of the fight, and made the Zellphorien step off, as well as hand over the knife. "You have five minutes before the fight begins." he said, looking grim as he crossed his arms.

The crew quickly strode over to Ellara, crowding around her. Questions were thrown about the situation until the Captain finally shut everyone up to ask in a more comprehensive matter. "Counsellor, please explain to my why we are being detained so you and this man can fight."

"It's a tradition on our planet. If you travel into a different sector, you immediately invite anyone to challenge you to fight. You can't deny, and the fight only ends when one of you is dead." At her words, the people around her understood the gravity of the situation. Someone would die today. "And there's no way to stop it?" Kirk asked, grasping at any possible way out.

Ellara shook her head, frowning deeply. "Hey, little girl, you look familiar." the man called out, wrapping up his fists.

Her head tilted to the side as she wondered where she had seen him before. "Did you happen to have a mother and a pretty little lady with you who died here?" The man's smirk proved that he knew exactly who she was, and rage filled Ellara as she comprehended where she'd seen him before.

"Ellara, what's wrong?" Lieutenant Uhura asked, putting her hand on the Rendorian's shoulder.

Shrugging it off, Ellara answered before walking forward. "That's the man who killed my mother and my girlfriend."

"How DARE YOU!" she screamed at him, taking in his pleased appearance. "You ruined my life that day. And even worse, you assume that you can overpower me just as easily." Ellara was shaking with rage as the two began walking in a circle, resembling a bit like animals in a fight. "You. Will. DIE!" she shouted, sounding almost rapid as she charged after getting the ok from the official.

 **Gore begins.**

Ellara's head rammed into the mans chest and tackled him to the ground. Spock only watched on as the two fought like wild cats, scratching and hissing as they twisted and turned. Both got an equal amount of hits, but the stranger was soon able to straddle the Counsellor as he held his hands around her neck. Everyone assumed that this was it, but Ellara quickly kneed him in the groin and stood up, holding him by the sides of his head. Her face was manic, and everyone seemed to take a step back as Ellara finished him off.

The mans head cracked to the side in an unnatural position, before a kick to his neck ripped it clean off, splattering Ellara and those close enough to watch in a thick spray of purple blood. Ellara held his head by her side with a disturbing expression on her face, and spit on his body before dropped him and crushing in his skull with her foot. Anyone who knew the customs knew that she had just committed the highest form of insult possible. Any family or friends who wished to mourn him would have to scramble to find the crushed brains spread out around where her foot had landed.

Using her arm to wipe her brow, effectively spreading more blood, Ellara finally glanced at the people around her, namely her crew mates. They were all looking at her with varying expressions of shock, nausea and fear. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I did what I had to do to live in peace."

In all fairness, as she ripped his head off, she had felt much light mentally then she had since before her mothers death. Ellara knew that she had finally bestowed her revenge, and her family could rest in peace. "If you don't mind," she began, taking a couple steps back from the body, "I think I'll go freshen up on the ship."

As she was being beamed up, Ellara gave a mock salute to the Captain. "That is a fascinating development." Spock simply said as they all stared at where the madwomen had been not a minute prior.

* * *

Back on the ship, Ellara stalked to her room, everyone in the hallways parting as soon as they as her. She looked absolutely terrifying. Her body was covered in bruises, her clothing was in tatters, and no one was sure wether or not the blood she sported was hers. As she reached her room, Ellara winced at the small amounts of blood and brain matter that had followed her. She felt bad for the cleaning crew as she stripped off her clothing and made her way to the shower.

 **Gore ends.**

As she touched her skin, however, she could feel herself burning up. "That's odd…" she murmured, wondering if she had a fever of some sort. Ellara shrugged it off as she stepping into the shower, and basked in the delight that was the warm water beating down on her skin.

When she stepped out, she picked out a much cleaner uniform before beginning to make her way to the transporter. Ellara had left the crew on the planet by themselves. Very shortly she was staring into the eyes of her Captain once again, and grinned as she gestured them to follow her to the city's transport pads. They only worked for the planet, and were only used for official business, but they it wasn't that far away.

Looking back to make sure everyone was following her, Ellara frowned at seeing how they were all staring at her. "Guys, you need to understand that what I just did was semi-normal for a majority of the people here. In fact, it was probably very entertaining for them. Besides, you all need to be in tip-top shape to represent the Federation while we're here. If you have any questions or lasting horrors by the time this is done, my office door is always open.

And with that, Ellara stepped on to the transport pad, waiting for the others to follow behind her. When they did, the Captain gave their destination to the man operating the machine, and off they went.

* * *

 **So, that was certainly an interesting chapter. To recap what happened in the gore; the guy died. Yeah. That's it. I could have just said that but my brain decided that details were best in that part. I'm very sorry about not having posted for a bit, but my charger died and I only got it fixed about two and a half hours ago. Maybe three and a half. So, yeah. I caught up on YouTube and then got to work. Please note; updates will be regular from now on. I hope. But yeah. This was the chapter I've been dying to write. It shows us a really creepy side of Ellara as well as her planet; a majority of them will kill ruthlessly if the situation is necessary. I feel like it compliments nicely with Spock going apeshit on Khan in Into Darkness. Only this was more nine years of repressed grief rather then the fresh pain of losing a dear (boy)friend. There also may or may not be some slight development in their relationship in the chapter after the next. And by relationship I mean as people who know each other. In case I didn't say it, I'm a sucker for slow-burns. To wrap this up, I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment or constructive criticism, it always makes my day. Thank you so much for all of the views and favourites and follows, it means soooooo much to me!**

 **animexchick: Thank you, I plan to.**

 **booklover1798: I can't wait to write more and see what Ellara does as well!**

 **angel897: That's good to hear.**

 **pearl. clark. 129(To avoid the confusion lol): Haha. I felt like the pervious chapters were more explanation and just passing through the movies, and now is where the good stuff starts.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Thank you so much! It's great to hear, and I'm excited to write about Rendoria!**

 **whitewolf7410: I hope you won't have to wait long.**

 **Gilyflower: Me too lol.**

 **booklover1798 x2: Thanks. I still haven't gotten it(turns out the wait is 15 days), but my dad fixed my old one. Woops.**

 **whitewolf7410 x2: Yeah. phones are just not fun to write stories on. :/**

 **datajana: Thanks, I really appreciate it.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 27th, 2016. Barely.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Leurielle was decidedly prettier then Zellphori, and Ellara practically cried at seeing her old towns' leader waiting there for them. "Elliha!" shouted Ellara, practically running to the old woman.

"My child," Elliha said in standard, hands clutching the girls' face. "It has been to long."

Ellara nodded, a few tears threatening to spill. "He's dead." she murmured, bowing her head.

A grim look passed over Elliha's face, before she nodded and said, "Good. Meritha and Lywa may sleep peacefully now, as will many others from Leurielle. We thank you for your service."

As everyone caught up to the two Rendorians, Ellara quickly made introductions. "Elliha, this is Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura and Ensign Chekov. Everyone, this is my towns' leader, Elliha."

With a smile, hands were shaken, and the rest of the crew was shocked at the almost complete one-eighty in Ellara's personality from earlier. She had gone from terrifying murderer to reminiscing Counsellor.

"Well, if you'll all follow me, I shall bring you to the town hall." Elliha said, a twinkle in her eye. "That was where I told your parents about you, just a month before you were born, Ellara." she teased, poking Ellara's nose.

Ellara smiled softly, remembering when her parents told her about the event. It had been a full moon, which was said to bring luck to the child. She supposed it was just superstition, then. After all, her life had never been one filled with exuberant amounts of luck. "Are you alright, child?" Elliha asked, placing her hand on Ellara's forehead. "You're burning up."

"I'm fine." Ellara waved her off, causing Elliha to frown. "Let's just get to the meeting. I would like to see my father after this."

* * *

The meeting for those in the Leurielle sector went much better then the first, with smiles and hugs exchanged all around. Everyone there spoke standard, so Ellara had no need to translate, and the Captain even told a few jokes.

By the time it was done, most people's minds had been taken away from the events in Zellphori, forgetting about Ellara's actions.

"It was wonderful to see you again, Elliha." said Ellara with a smile, hugging her old leader.

Elliha stroked Ellara's hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "And you too, my child. You too. Stay safe up in the stars."

With that, Ellara bowed, and began the short walk to her father's house. "I won't be long." she told the crew, who had all begun to look around the beautiful market.

Ellara gazed upon her childhood home, taking in how there was much maintenance that needed to be done. She knocked on the door, feeling slightly out of place. That, however, was rectified as soon as her father's eyes landed upon his daughter. "Ellara!" he cried, pulling his daughter in close.

"Papa!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Nalli.

The two held each other for a few minutes before breaking apart, still remaining close. "How you've grown…" murmured Nalli, holding his daughter's face. He quickly smushed her cheeks together, drawing a laugh from the two of them. "Come in, come in." he said, gesturing inside. "I haven't had a chance to clean up, I didn't know you were coming over."

"Me neither." replied Ellara, flashing him a smile. "I was told about the mission this morning, and it's been complete chaos ever since."

Nalli let out a side smile, beginning to put things away. "Father." Ellara said, calling for his attention. He looked up, brows furrowed. "He's dead." she said plainly, not giving any more explanation.

"You mean…" her father inquired, checking to make sure she meant what she said. Ellara nodded, tears beginning to form. "Oh my daughter!" Nalli exclaimed, rushing over to his daughter and bringing her to his chest. "Thank you, thank you so much."

* * *

The two spent half an hour reminiscing and discussing their new lives. The visit was cut short with a comm from the Captain, and Ellara was sent off with some fresh candles, two of them blessed by their favourite Priestess. Ellara thanked him with the promise that she would come back on her next shore leave, and returned to her crew.

Yantaro and Galleck were fairly uneventful, with only two people spitting at Ellara's feet. She was impressed. Practically everyone they had passed in Zellphori had either called her a name or attempted to spit in her eye. But of course, as usual, Zellphori refused to progress to a better time.

By the time they were done in Galleck, Ellara was practically sweating buckets, and the others were huddled near her, due to the meeting being in one of the colder regions. "How are you so hot right now?" the Captain asked, genuinely fuddled.

Ellara shrugged, not knowing herself. "I am concerned about the possibility that you have caught an illness, Counsellor." spoke Spock, his tone as cool as the environment they were in.

"I doubt it." replied Ellara over her shoulder. "Rendorians rarely get sick. Anything we do catch would kill you in five minutes."

Her statement that was supposed to be reassuring caused slight panic to fill some of her crew-mates' eyes. Noticing it, Ellara rolled her eyes, letting loose a sigh. "For crying out loud, guys. It only affects Rendorians. Studies have proven that other races can't be infected. Thought you would have done some freaking research."

With that, Ellara requested to Lieutenant Commander Scott to beam them up. He complied, and Ellara took off before the others could even begin to settle down.

"Fascinating." said Spock as he stared at the slight burn marks in the carpet from where Ellara had stood.

* * *

The minute she reached her room, Ellara had hopped into her shower and shoved her fist in her mouth before letting loose a scream. Her skin felt like it was being singed off, and she was in a ridiculous amount of pain. The last time she had felt like this was when she had gotten her scars. But it couldn't be that time yet, it wasn't her… Oh dear. It was Ellara's twenty-fifth birthday according to the Rendorians, who's calendar was a day ahead of the one belonging to the ship. Everything made sense. Why she had been a bit hot headed, the increase in body heat, the pain. Ellara's body suddenly erupted into flames, and she screamed, sinking down to her knees. She couldn't turn on the water yet, the flames had to die down.

Spock had been walking to Ellara's quarters when he heard her scream, and quickly sprinted the rest of the way. He inputted the override code, and ran to her bathroom, whereupon he saw her on fire. The flames were licking up her skin, a beautiful green that was slightly enchanting. It only lasted a moment, and they soon began to dissipate, leaving a groaning Ellara. She slowly moved to turn the knob, and Spock saved her the trouble by putting the water on to cold. Ellara immediately sighed in relief, curling into a ball and took a moment as steam rolled off of her in waves.

Once she appeared to be sufficiently cooled off, Spock gently placed a towel around the Counsellor and allowed her to dry herself off, putting on some loose clothing once he had left the bathroom. When she emerged, Ellara had a deep blush spread out on her face, head pointed towards the floor. "May I inquire as to what just occurred?" asked Spock, still as calm as before.

Ellara sighed, realizing she would have to explain. She took a seat on her bed and began. "Every ten years, from their fifteenth birthday on, Rendorians have this event where we burst into flames to renew our marks." At this, she gestured to the purple lines adorning her body. "They aren't just pretty stripes. They're scars, completely different for each person, like a fingerprint. This event is also very private, meant only to be seen by family and our betrothed." Ellara began to blush again, embarrassed that Spock had seen her in this particular moment.

Spock understood immediately why she appeared to be much more reserved then before, and gave a small nod of his head. "I will not tell anyone of what I saw. I will, however, request that you go down to the medical bay and see Doctor McCoy about his burn medication. It should help with the healing process."

Ellara gave a small smirk, reaching into her nightstand and pulling out her own creme. "Two steps ahead of you, Commander Spock. If I could be alone for a while, though, I would appreciate it."

The subtle message was received by the Commander, and he bid her a good evening before leaving her quarters. That was not an event that Ellara was excited about repeating.

* * *

 **So, chapter nine! And if you're wondering, when I kept saying "it's been nine years, ten years, whatever", that was what I was referring to. Ellara catching fire. She literally became hot headed, I can't! I'm sorry, I think I'm funny. Anyway, Ellara saw her family again, and Spock saw a private moment that he shouldn't have. She's gonna be awkward around him for a while. That, I am very good at writing, haha. *deep sigh* Poor El. Her dad forgot her birthday. Tbh, he is supposed to be a less present father because of the death of Meritha. So... yeh. The beginning wasn't as fun to write as the "on fire" part, so I'm definitely going to be starting some Spock/Ellara development soon. They need to at least be friends soon. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave any comments or constructive criticism, it's always appreciated! Can't wait to post next week. I assume exciting things next chapter.**

 **PS - I also added a little AN at the end of the prologue, which pertains to the title of the story. So, if you're curious... yeh.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: I always anticipate what cool new comment you'll give next! It's honestly so great to read. And hells yes she's a badass. She's Rendorian; they're raised knowing how to fight in case someone attacks. She probably went a bit overboard, but he _did_ kill her family. And oh my god yeah Spock better get ready. He won't know what hit him. Or who. Heheheh. **

**animexchick: Yesssssss dramaaaaaaaa I love writing it so much it's so fun! Yeah. I don't know if I'm going to have her have to do a bit more work to get over her grief yet or not. We'll see... we'll see. :)**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated September 3rd, 2016.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Woah." said the Captain as he glanced at his Counsellor the next morning at breakfast.

Wherwie she had before had faint lines, there were now almost neon purple marks adorning her skin. Ellara blushed slightly, not used to such praise, especially from an off-worlder. "You look a lot less human now." he said, a slight flirtatious tone in his voice.

Ellara smirked as she took her seat, saying, "Actually, you look Rendorian. Science has already proved that we came before you, Captain."

Kirk looked taken aback as he took in the information. That wasn't something he had expected. "Well, it certainly looks good."

Ellara smiled before beginning to eat. However, she choked on her food when she saw Commander Spock take a seat beside her. The events from the night prior had not left her mind, the intimate moment still freshly engraved into her skin. "Chew, Counsellor." teased Bones, taking in her flushed face.

After having regained her breath, Ellara turned slightly towards the Vulcan. "Commander Spock." she greeted tersely.

"Counsellor Ellara." he replied, voice just as stiff. They were both thoroughly embarrassed; there was no denying it.

The others around the table took in the tension between the two and decided that Ellara's purple cheeks and the green tips of Spock's ears were enough of an indicator of what went down. "Hey, El," the Captain started, receiving a glare for his use of the unappreciated nickname. "I was looking for Spock last night." Ellara shot a quick glance at the man in question. "The computer said he was in your room."

At his knowing smirk, Ellara's face deepened to a dark shade of violet. Looking at her wrist, Ellara said "Well, looks like it's time to get to work. Goodbye!" and left ridiculously fast.

As soon as she was out of the cafeteria, she began to hit her head against the wall. They had noticed her new stripes, they knew Spock had been in her room, and she didn't even have a watch to tell her what time it was! This was just turning into a disaster.

After a few moments of head banging, Ellara shook herself, remembering that she was a strong, capable woman, and that something as small as this should not be causing her so much anguish. With that, she began the walk to her office.

* * *

Ellara looked up as a knock sounded at her door. Considering that it was open, she could see exactly who it was. The Counsellor was pleasantly surprised to see Ensign Chekov at her door. "Ensign." she said, standing up. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Chekov took this as his cue to walk in, and did so, twiddling his hands. "Ze Captain sent me to ask you a question." he said, accent thick.

Ellara's head tilted to the side, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. She leaned against her desk, and gestured for him to continue. "Oh really?"

The man- well, boy, she supposed- nodded, and took a few breaths. "He says that ze Commander is not at his station, and to see if you and he were togezer." he elaborated, slightly cautious.

Rolling her eyes, Ellara dropped her head in her left hand. "For crying out loud!" she muttered, shaking her head slightly. Shaking it off, Ellara looked back up and said, "No. I don't know where Commander Spock is. He's certainly not with me."

At that, another knock sounded at the door. Ellara released a small groan and shouted, "Just a minute." She turned back to the Ensign and said, "Listen, I'll sort this out with the Captain. Unless there's something else, you should just go back to your work."

Chekov nodded and opened the door to leave. Standing on the other side was Commander Spock and the Captain. Ellara was taken aback, having not expected that. As the two men went in and the boy left, Ellara grinned. "I see you found the Commander, Captain."

Her grin, however, faded as she took in their serious expressions. "Please, take a seat gentlemen." she said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of her desk, sitting down in her own.

Spock and Kirk followed her request, and there was an uncomfortable silence for a minute. "To what do I owe this visit?" asked Ellara, leaning forward slightly.

"This is on account of what happened back in Zellphori." replied Kirk, mouth set in a thin line. "It's about how you ruthlessly murdered a member of your own species."

Ellara chewed on her bottom lip, leaning back and looking at the edge of her desk in thought. "Ah." she simply stated.

"The Captain and I are here to understand why the event occurred." explained Spock.

The Counsellor nodded, having comprehended that part. "Yeah, I got that. It's complicated, though." she said, a little terrified if she was being honest.

"We have as much time as you need to explain." prompted the Captain, slightly angry. This was not a joking matter. Someone had been killed by the hands of an irreplaceable member of crew, and he wanted to know why.

Ellara sighed, leaning back further. "On my planet, what happened is normal. If you come from Leurielle and go into Zellphori, anyone from there has the legal right to challenge you to a fight that only ends once your opponent is dead. It's law; if you go into a sector that is not your own, you can be challenged. The only way that you can't is if your a Priest or if you're there on government business. In most sectors, Starfleet is classed under government business. However, Zellphori doesn't accept it. They've always been the deviants, I suppose. So, by Rendorian law, I was required to fight."

Kirk nodded, sort of understanding the situation. "That may be true, but you didn't just kill the man. you slaughtered him. You almost… seemed to take pleasure in it. How can I be sure that you won't do this again?"

"That was a special case." she said quickly, eyes widening. "That man… when I was sixteen, he killed my mother and my fiancée. They were the most wonderful women I knew, and he killed them both at the same time. It's got a classification, too. That was a revenge kill. The souls of my mother and my… my beloved… they were avenged. They can now rest in peace."

Ellara relaxed her pose, believing her work to be done. The Captain nodded, thinking things over. "We don't tell anyone about this." he commanded sternly.

Ellara nodded quickly, not needing to be prompted about that. "Alright." he sighed, leaning back. "Wait a minute, your fiancée was a woman?" he asked, shooting forward.

"Captain, I do believe that discussing the Counsellor's private life was the reason for our being here." interrupted Spock, looking to the man beside him.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up Spock. I'm the Captain, I can do what I want." he said, waving his Commander off.

Ellara chuckled, enjoying their banter. "Yes, my fiancée was a woman. Rendoria doesn't take much stock into sexuality. Considering we're engaged before birth, whoever comes out is your soulmate. We're one of the only planets in the galaxy that has found out how to make children with same sex couples, without any birth defects." she said, a small smile on her face. "I was only four years away from marrying her. My Lywa."

She looked down, her eyes glazed. "Well, we'll be going then." said the Captain, him and Spock standing up to leave. Ellara snapped out of her trance, getting up with them. "It was a pleasure." she said, the smile still present, although slightly less real.

The two men nodded and left, leaving Ellara to her thoughts. She wasn't sad anymore. She didn't burst out crying or screaming at the thought of what had happened. Ellara took a moment, and then quickly pulled a candle and a lighter from her desk drawer. Lighting it, she got down on her knees and began muttering her beginning chant. "Thank you, oh great Gods. You have taken away my grief, and I can now begin to live my life again. I give you all of my love, and place the fate of my life in your hands. I have achieved all I want. I ask if I could have a new purpose. Thank you." Ellara finished off her prayer and extinguished the candle, placing it back in the drawer. She slowly stood up, thankful to the Gods for having given her this opportunity.

Ellara sat back down in her seat, a small smile on her face. She was about to begin a new chapter in her life. She could really dive into her career and know that her mother and father would be proud. She could pursue new relationships freely, maybe even find a lover. Wouldn't that be a shock to her town. When Rendorian's lost their mate, they generally wouldn't seek out another. It was hard to replicate the bond formed from birth. Some tried, and a few were even successful. Maybe if Ellara looked outside of her culture, she would find someone. There was the entirety of space awaiting her. Her life was finally taking a turn for the better.

 **Chapter ten! Wasn't that a wild ride. Ellara has fiinally come to terms with the death of her loved ones, Spock and the Captain are pacified about what happened on Rendoria, and Spock and Ellara blushed. How sweet. I am very sorry I couldn't get it up on time, but this was my birthday week and I had a ton of relatives over so it was really hectic. Next week we can look forward to some friendship stuff! Yes I am vague. So, I hope y'all enjoyed, please leave a comment or constructive criticism, it's always appreciated! Can't till next week.**

 **animexchick: Yeah, I had to have some father/daughter bonding time.**

 **booklover1798: Thank you!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Spock, ever the helpful Vulcan. Yeah, I just want their relationship to be relaxed and start sloooooooowly.**

 **Gal: I'm planning on it, don't worry.**

 **P. S. if any of the ending of this has an abundance of typos, I was finishing it up on my phone on the bus because i needed to lol but it means that it probably didn't end up as good.**

 **Updated September 13th, 2016.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Ellara had finally recovered. She'd spent a majority of her time working, but when she had a spare moment, Ellara would go to one of the many rec rooms to spend some time with her friends. Life on the Enterprise was enjoyable, however, there were definitely some downsides. For example, the recent split between Lieutenant Uhura and Commander Spock had created some tension between the two. Ellara had considered speaking to them about it, but seeing as it wasn't interfering with their work or harming anyone, she let it be. The two could work together peacefully, however the Lieutenant often threw sarcastic and borderline hostile remarks at the Commander, which he did not usually comprehend, but with friends, the Commander often criticized the Lieutenant's work.

"With that in mind, I shall be keeping a much closer eye on the two. Any sign of dissension, and the two shall find themselves in my office in a heartbeat. End log." Ellara finished, spinning her chair away from her PADD. She was sitting in her office, waiting on an appointment with Ensign Hutch. He had been having recurring nightmares since the appearance of Khan, and it was beginning to impede with his work and physical health, not to mention the mental toll it was taking on him.

A chime from her PADD alerted her to a new message, and she found it was from one such Ensign. "Counsellor Lat'toy, I wish to reschedule the appointment. I am currently caring for a sick friend. Ensign Hutch."

Ellara did not find anything wrong with rescheduling, so she sent a suggested date and time his way, and leaned back in her chair. She shot straight up when there was a harsh knocking at her door, however. "Come in." she called out, wondering who could be so insistent. In burst Ensign Chekov, chest heaving. "Come quick, Counsellor! It's the Commander and the Lieutenant!"

At his explanation, Ellara quickly ran out of the room, the Ensign at her tail. It was a quiet ride in the elevator. When they reached the bridge, Ellara found Uhura screaming at the Commander, and his face was practically murderous. By Vulcan standards, of course. Which was slightly irritated to Rendorians and humans. "You never cared about me, did you? All you wanted was the pride that one of your students liked you!" Uhura screamed.

Spock tilted his head to the side. "I resent your accusation-" "Oh can it, Spock!"

Ellara walked forward, coming to stop right beside the two, who did not even notice. "Guys-"

"I hate how much I stood up for you. You never did _anything_ for me." interrupted Uhura.

Ellara sighed, "I really think now-"

"I tried my hardest, Nyota." said Spock, voice cracking slightly.

"GUYS!" shouted Ellara, finally garnering their attention.

When Spock looked at the Rendorian Counsellor, her face was flushed purple and she looked positively vexed. "My office. Now." she growled out lowly.

Ellara turned on her heel and stalked out of the bridge, the Lieutenant and Commander following silently behind her. The three got into the elevator and began the torturous descent down.

By the time they had reached their destination, the tension was so thick that it was slightly difficult to breathe. Ellara gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk, and sat roughly in her own spot. The two sat down, and waited with baited breath as Ellara looked between the two.

"So," Ellara broke the silence, "we definitely have a problem here, I would say. What do you want to do about it?"

Uhura and Spock were both taken aback. They expected her to tell them exactly what to do; letting them figure it out seemed slightly counterproductive and would definitely only result in another fight. "I think that he needs to-"

Ellara cut Uhura off. "No. Something that you both have to do together. You are both the problem right now. You will not enjoy what happens if I find that I need to drag you back here one more time. So, a solution that involves you resolving the problem and being able to live in the same area without wanting to strangle each other. And you will both put in an equal effort."

It was without question that Spock and Uhura would always share one thing- their unending pride. However, at that moment, they both avoided the gaze of the Counsellor, acting like wounded puppies. Which, in Ellara's eyes, they were, a little bit. She had been quite harsh. However, coddling these full grown adults would not work. Not to mention that they were two of the smartest people she knew.

Spock opened his mouth and closed it a few times, debating his idea. After a few moments, he chose to share it. "Lieutenant Uhura and I could discuss our issues with your supervision."

The Lieutenant looked down, slightly resentful that he had thought of the idea before her, but silently agreeing that it was a good one. "That… could work. If I see that the conversation is going in the wrong direction, though, I'm going to stop it immediately." Ellara said, hesitant, knowing that Lieutenant Uhura had a very… emotional… personality. It wasn't a bad thing; she just got angered very quickly.

After a beat of silence, Ellara gestured for the two of them to face each other. They complied, and the awkwardness in the room slowly become more and more prominent. "Well, someone say something!"

This sparked the conversation, and the two spent the next ten minutes discussing their issues. The silence was occasionally broken by Ellara, who could sense the mood shifting slightly. After about a solid two minutes of calm discussion, though, she decided that enough was enough.

"Ok guys, great talking, I'm gonna be right back." Ellara stood up and waddled her way to the door. "I gotta pee…" she muttered under her breath, practically bursting.

Spock turned back to the woman sitting across from him, having heard the Counsellor's final statement. His ears turned slightly green, and Nyota noticed. She let out a little giggle, having also heard what Ellara said. "Well, this definitely isn't awkward." she said, looking at her feet.

"I am unsure if that was sarcasm or not." Spock added on, genuinely confused.

Nyota smiled slightly, nodding her head. Silence descended over the room, blanketing over the ex-couple. It was interrupted by the arrival of their Counsellor who quickly ran back to her seat. "So, what did I miss?" she asked, glancing expectantly at the two.

"Not much. I think we covered most of what was wrong." supplied Uhura, her smile having completely disappeared.

"Well, there's still something I'd like the two of you to discuss." Ellara stated, her expression turning grave.

The two looked at Ellara with curiosity. "When the two of you split, Lieutenant, you said it was because the Commander had been ignoring you. Commander, before you left the room, you told me that you had been worried that you were being too… what was the word? I think you said emotionally attached? And then I said clingy and you said that that was what you had heard the Captain use before, and it did fit the situation. Or something like that." Noticing that she had trailed off, Ellara shook her head. "Anyway, I'd like you both to discuss that, and the actions leading up to your split." She leaned back, chewing her lip anxiously.

Uhura furrowed her brows at the knowledge that Spock thought he had been clingy. "Spock, you were by no means clingy." she told him, confused at how he had thought so.

"I disagree, Nyota. By human standards, it is possible that I was not developing an excessive emotional attachment, however Vulcan's are very much different. I was becoming too dependant on you." he stated plainly, very sure of what he said.

"And you didn't think to talk to me about it?!" exclaimed Uhura, her tone rising slightly. Spock was taken aback, not having considered that. "Spock. I could have told you, reassured you that it was all alright. You're half human; being emotionally attached after that much time is expected."

"That… is another one of the problems, Nyota. I am half human, as you say, but I am also half Vulcan. I was raised on Vulcan, my thoughts are primarily Vulcan. Your attempts to make me more human have been in vain; I can not change." Spock said, sounding upset, if anything.

Uhura sighed, accepting that there was nothing she could do. "I guess, I sort of knew that. I just didn't want to admit that you weren't… different. Our relationship started as a student and professor, which is already a difficult one to maintain. The fact that we stayed together for so long is amazing, and I will always cherish the time that we spent together. But I think we need to put it behind us now, and move on with our lives." she stated solemnly.

The Commander nodded, growing silent as well. Ellara, sensing that the conversation was over, took in a deep breath. "I guess all that's left is to terminate your relationship with Starfleet." she said, pulling up a file on her PADD.

Spock turned to the Counsellor with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean, Counsellor?" he asked, positively confused.

Ellara scoffed, thinking he was just forgetting something. "You both had to sign a contract as soon as you began working together, on top of the one allowing you to maintain a student and professor relationship. It's regulation." she explained in an attempt to refresh their memories.

"I have not heard of such a document. Have you, Nyota?" Spock asked of the Lieutenant, who simply shook her head, frowning.

The Counsellor was surprised, wondering how they weren't aware. "What do you mean? It's all signed, I have it pulled up right here." Ellara turned her PADD towards the two, showing them that they had, in fact, signed a relationship contract that day of the Enterprise's first official voyage. "The Captain was the witness."

Thinking back to that day, Uhura realized what it was. "Oh my god, the Captain did come to me asking me to sign some sort of paper, saying that it was necessary for all senior staff and not to worry about it."

"He asked that of me as well." added Spock, glancing towards Nyota.

Ellara smirked, finding the situation hilarious. "So he got the both of you to sign a necessary document, and none of you questioned what it said? No, you know what's funny, is that you, Commander," she pointed towards Spock, "weren't aware that this was a requirement. I'm gonna be chuckling about this for a while."

Nyota laughed a little as well, joining the Counsellor, leaving Spock to wonder how the situation was amusing. "Either way, you need to sign the termination agreement. Yeah, that's right, there. You too, Lieutenant." Ellara turned the PADD towards herself once the ex-couple was done signing, and added her signature as witness. She sent off the file, and placed her hands on her lap. "I guess we're done here." she said, taking a deep breath.

"It would seem so." said Spock, turning back towards Uhura. "It was… fascinating, Lieutenant Uhura, going through our turmoil."

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow of her own, mimicking the Commander's signature move, and said, "Yeah, ok, Commander. I'll see you on the bridge." She turned towards Ellara. "Thank you so much for your help, Counsellor. I really appreciate it." With a small smile, she left the office.

"I appreciate your services as well, Counsellor Lat'toy. I hope you will not be offended if I say that I hope to never need them again." said Spock, beginning to get up.

Ellara smiled, enjoying his subtly humour. "Not at all, Commander. In fact, I hope to never see you again in this office. That would be a sad, sad day."

Slightly confused, Spock gave a small nod of his head before walking out.

 _What a pretentious prick,_ thought Ellara. Couldn't even talk to his girlfriend about his issues. Shaking her head, Ellara banished the rude ideas, and went to work on writing a report. This was going to be a long evening.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11. And I finally got over 2,000 words again I'm so happy. I also finished this /before/ I had to update. I feel awesome tbh no offence. But yeah! This chapter featured Spock and Uhura overcoming their issues. I feel like this was really OOC and I'm kinda upset about that but *le sigh*. Also Ellara can be rude in her head when she wants hehe. Don't worry, I won't give them a love/hate relationship, I'm not that cruel. I want them to be friends before they get together. It'd fit the Rendorian dating style much better, anyway. Don't worry, though, there's way much more then their relationship coming up. Ellara has a lot of personal growth to do, and as much as I hate to admit it... she still has some stuff to go through about her family. She has had a lot of trouble letting go, and the people who were and weren't around her during that critical time just when they died have made a huge impact on what she's going to go through. You'll see what I mean later.**

 **Also, a huge thanks to AwesomeFangirlOtaku01 for pointing out that I had accidentally put up the prologue instead of chapter 10! I was on my phone and my finger slipped a lil bit, I guess, and I didn't check, but thank you very much for telling me, I appreciate it.**

 **Anyway.**

 **booklover1798: He would though, like legit. Of all things. Thank you so much, though!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: I swear you comment so much, I'm so appreciative of that. My birthday was the 12th, but thank you very much for the birthday wishes! I got a lot of cool stuff, heheh. And I love writing this story, so I would have enjoyed writing, however I always went to bed late, and it was a school night. :/ I wouldn't say Kirk is getting suspicious, more that he enjoys teasing his crew and has an exceptionally dirty mind. Also, you read my mind about Kirk trying to hook them up. I definitely have something along those lines as part of the future plot(spoilers, although tbh why wouldn't he), but I might write some drabbles once I finish the story, if I'm not too occupied with this other story I'm working on, heh... Sorry I'm just really excited about this project I have going on and I just want to show it to you all now, but I'm gonna not.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated September 22nd, 2016**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Ellara was promptly woken up by someone shaking her shoulder. "Counsellor. Counsellor!" cried a female voice.

Waving off her waker, Ellara mumbled out, "Five more minutes." before attempting to turn over…

…and promptly falling out of her chair. She sat upright and looked around, wiping the drool from her chin with a groan. Ellara had fallen asleep in her office. She spotted Lieutenant Uhura holding back a laugh standing next to her. "Hey." she mumbled as she slowly got to her feet. "Am I late for something?"

The Lieutenant shook her head before calming down. "No, I'm early. But I just came by so we could walk to the rec room." supplied Uhura.

Thinking back on what she had planned, Ellara realized that she was supposed to teach Uhura some Rendorian today. Dusting herself off, Ellara began walking towards her door, PADD in hand. When Nyota realized that Ellara was aware of what they were doing, she quickly caught up and the two began a slow trek.

"No, no, no. It's more like the french 'tu'. You're pronouncing it more like the Italian 'te'." said Ellara calmly.

Uhura groaned, putting her face in her arms. "Rendorian is so difficult. I think it might be worse then Klingon."

Ellara chuckled at that statement, admitting that Rendorian was hard. It was considered to be the third most difficult language to learn. The Lieutenant and her had been in the rec room for two hours, and so far Uhura had learned half of the alphabet. Not bad for a xenolinguist, but to Uhura, it was disastrous.

"Maybe we should call it a day." suggested Ellara.

Uhura nodded, and the two began packing their things. "I'll make some worksheets for our next lesson." Ellara said, glancing towards the door as Ensign Chekov and Lieutenant Sulu walked in.

"Counsellor Lat'toy, Chekov and I were looking for you." called Sulu, walking over to the two girls.

Ellara merely raised her eyebrow in confusion, "What for?" she asked.

Chekov and Sulu looked at each other with a bit of excitement, and Chekov began explaining. "Vell, Sulu vas telling me about how you and him ver planning to spar at some point, and I vas vondering if you could teach me?"

"Speaking of which," Lieutenant Sulu interjected, "we really do need to set a date to spar. Especially after seeing you fight back on Rendoria."

Ellara turned her head away slightly at hearing the man's words. That was not an experience she would be telling to any possible future children. Thinking on it, Ellara decided on a time. "Now." she said quickly.

Sulu looked taken aback, not expecting that answer. However, he was not fazed, and grinned at her. "Alright. Let's do this."

Waving goodbye to Lieutenant Uhura, Ellara began the trek to the gym with Sulu and Chekov. This would be interesting.

—

When they arrived, Ellara began a quick stretching routine she had devised for herself. Sulu began stretching as well, and Chekov sat off to the side, eager for them to begin. Once they were both properly warmed up, the two moved over to one of the giant mats and got in position. "You ready?" asked her opponent, grinning slightly.

Ellara merely hissed in reply before pouncing. Rendorian fighting was pretty animalistic, focusing equally on attacking as on intimidation. So while scratching, punching, charging and kicking, Ellara would growl and snarl and roar, her teeth bared. Safe to say that the intimidation work, but Sulu managed to hold his own. He was a skilled fighter, however the 150 pound woman who was stood in front of him like a panther proved to be enough to scare him into making a mistake, and Ellara finally tackled him to the ground. Sulu tapped out, and the Counsellor's demeanour completely changed. She began smiling, and offered him a hand. Sulu took it and clapped her on the back. "That was really good. I saw a few moves there that don't resemble anything I know; could you teach them to me?" asked Sulu, handing her a water bottle.

Ellara drank greedily before saying, "Without a doubt. Maybe not today, though. It's been a while since I've fought for long, so I'm a little tired right now."

And it was apparent. There was sweat rolling down her face and she looked slightly ashen. She was panting heavily, and both of her hands were shaking. Sulu agreed, and Ellara turned towards Chekov. The young man was smiling wide, the sight he had seen exciting him. "Counsellor Ellara!" he said, running over to the two.

Ellara smiled at him, running a towel along her brow. "Yes, Ensign Chekov?" she asked.

"Do you think you could teach me to fight like that? It vas wery good." he said excitedly.

Ellara nodded, chuckling slightly, and she set up a time and day to teach the two men in front of her. She quickly bid them adieu and walked back to her room for a shower. She needed it.

—

Over breakfast the next morning, cautious glances were sent towards Ellara from the rest of the crew. Her table was laughing as usual, so it wasn't them. Ellara guessed that the news of her actions on Rendoria had spread to the rest of the crew. As one Ensign passed, she hissed "Murderer."

Ellara heard, and simply raised her eyebrow at the brave woman. "Ensign Burrow?" she called before she could get of earshot.

The Ensign stood stock still, and slowly turned back around. Her face was bright red, and she clearly regretted what she had said. "Do you have an issue with me?" asked Ellara slowly, clearly enunciating every word.

Ensign Burrow shook her head rapidly, saying, "N-no Counsellor."

"Really? Because I could have sworn you had called me 'murderer' not a minute ago. Did I hear incorrectly?" Ellara replied, teasing the Ensign.

Burrow looked down in embarrassment, refusing to meet Ellara's eyes. "If you have a problem with me, Ensign Burrow, I suggest you come and see me in my office rather then hiss out insults." scolded Ellara. What she did on Rendoria may have been wrong in the eyes of humans, but it was 100 percent legal and encouraged on her planet. She would gladly explain it to anyone who had trouble understanding that.

Understanding that the conversation was over, Ensign Burrow and her friend scuttled off and Ellara turned back to her food. The entire table was looking at her in shock. This was not the friendly Counsellor they had come to know. This was a woman who could hold her own, and who was pretty sassy. Thankfully, Ellara did not detect any fear in the eyes of her crew-mates. Good. She understood that fighting was not tolerated anywhere else, and the case on Rendoria was a special one. She just hoped they got that she knew this.

"Ellara," called Scotty from the other end. Ellara leaned forward to see him, and nodded. "You said back on Rendoria that that man had killed your girlfriend."

Ellara raised both eyebrows, taken aback. Remembering the events, she realized that she had, in fact, said that. "I did, Scotty. What's your question?"

"I was just wondering what relationships are like on your planet?" he asked, the crew turning to look at Ellara.

She blushed slightly, not used to that much attention. "Well, before we're born, our parents go to the leader of our town to learn about us. Our gender, when exactly we're due, things like that. But, that is also when are parents are told who we're supposed to marry." Ellara paused to allow the information to sink in.

"Your planet has arranged marriages?" asked Spock, curious.

Ellara nodded, wondering, "Why do you ask?"

"I was also engaged. However, my betrothal to T'Pring occurred when I was seven years old." answered Spock, shocking the Counsellor and most of the table. Uhura was not fazed, however, considering their past, this made sense.

"Oh. Well, I believe the situations are much different. On Rendoria, once you know who your child is to marry, you immediately join a house with their family. From my birth, I was beside Lywa. She was more than my girlfriend. She was my soulmate." said Ellara, looking slightly wistful. However, at the 'awww's from the women at the table, Ellara shook her head. "Not like that. We are put together by our ancestor's, our Gods. They have the power to see how we will turn out, and can then decide who will end up together. We are literal soulmates. Up until the day she died, I had not spent a day without her."

"Why would they do that?" demanded Uhura. "That sounds horrible. You don't get a break."

Ellara chuckled, a familiar feeling stirring with her words. "Most children think so too. After about ten, we start to resent our constant time together, but around thirteen, that's when we really appreciate the law."

Her table mates' eyes widened when she said the word 'law'. "It's a law?" cried Kirk, slightly outraged.

Ellara nodded, taking a bite of egg. Swallowing, she continued on. "Yup. It allows us to learn everything we can about our partner before marriage at twenty."

"What if you hate your soulmate?" asked Chekov from the other end.

"It rarely happens, but there are cases. I don't know what they do, however. After twenty, it is very difficult to separate." answered Ellara, finishing off her toast.

"Why would that be?" asked Spock, who had finished earlier.

Ellara smiled. "Because when we're married, one of the High Priests or Priestess' will connect our minds. We will see what our lover can see, and hear their thoughts. It can only be broken by a very painful process with one of our Priests, death, or being separated by at least one planet for a year."

"Well that's oddly specific." commented Scotty.

Chuckling, the Counsellor nodded. "It is. Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but too much is dangerous. A very popular quote on Rendoria."

The table laughed, understanding the humour in her phrase. "So vhat vould that make you?" asked Chekov, and everyone silenced.

"I'm a widow." answered Ellara solemnly.

At her words, everyone's plates suddenly became very interesting. "Well, that's enough learning for one day. I gotta get to work." Ellara stood up abruptly and walked off. That was more awkwardness then she cared to handle.

* * *

 **Chapter 12! Right? Yes? Yes. Sometimes I forget. So, a little bit of learning about Rendorian dating that you already knew about because prologues. I think. Let me check... ok yeah. You already knew some of this. Also, more of that cultural clashing that I enjoy so much. Also someone shoot me because I have no clue how to write Chekov's accent properly. And then I don't even try for Scotty... Sorry. But yeah, that's that chapter. The next one should have an interesting relationship development for Ellara and Spock AND someone else. I apologize if you don't like the pairing, don't necessarily ship it, however it is necessary for plot reasons. However it also might not have that because I've officially passed the point where I wanted the events to go in an exact order, so now I keep checking my guidelines to reference what exactly it is that I wanted to write, heheh. But, all in all, thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it so much. Leave a comment if you have anything you'd like to say or any constructive criticism, and I shall talk t you all next week!**

 **booklover1798: I really enjoyed writing that. :)**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Omg I have to restrain myself when reading fanfics so often otherwise I'll go aw or laugh or start raising my eyebrow. It's nice to know I made you laugh, though. Yeah, Ellara can be rude sometimes. Bruh, love ya too!**

 **LifeIsASacrificeWorthMaking: Thank you so much! I look forward to writing more! :D**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated September 29th, 2016**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Did you hear? The Captain just walked out of Lieutenant Uhura's room!" whisper-shouted one of the Ensign's as Ellara walked past.

Frowning, the Counsellor wondered to herself what right they had to the private lives of the members of the bridge crew. Not to mention, he could have just been visiting. It was no secret that the Captain and Uhura were good friends. Ellara made a move to reprimand the Ensign's but was interrupted by a ding from her PADD.

It was Commander Spock. He had requested to meet her in her office, and he was with the previously mentioned Lieutenant. A fascinating development. Thinking it over, Ellara ignored the Ensign's and continued on her way.

She arrived at her office shortly afterwards, spotting the Commander and the Lieutenant seated in their usual chairs. "Hey guys, what can I do for you today?" she asked cheerfully, taking her spot.

Both of her patients moved to speak, and both stopped at the same time. Uhura shot a slight glare towards Spock, and Ellara took a deep breath. Their animosity had clearly not dissipated. Oh dear. Spock kept his mouth closed, and Uhura turned back to Ellara. "We've… been having some trouble coexisting, and our arguments are starting up again. I…" she sighed, "We… were wondering if you could be a sort of mediator between us as we try to become friends again."

Ellara looked between the two as she tried to figure out what they meant. A mediator? What did that even entail? Watching over them like a mother hen? "I believe further clarification is necessary." commented Spock, seeing the confusion on Counsellor Lat'toy's face. While Lieutenant Uhura's idea had been intelligent, her delivery of it lacked the detail needed to explain it to someone who did not know Uhura's mind as well. "What the Lieutenant meant was-"

Uhura cut Spock off, "What I meant was that we'd appreciate it if, when we're all together as a group, you could possibly direct conversations between him and I, and make sure that we remain civil. We've fought so much lately that I kind of forget what that's like."

The two women chuckled while Spock looked on in confusion. What was amusing about the tension between two co-workers?

Once they had calmed down, Ellara nodded her head. "Alright, I see what you mean now. It sounds like a good idea."

Uhura smiled and stood up. She quickly shook Ellara's hand and thanked her before making her way out. "Counsellor?" asked Spock, to which Ellara turned her head back towards him, having been distracted by her slowly dying plant.

"Yes Commander?" she asked, moving to stand next to Spock. He had migrated to the doorway, staring at the retreating form of Lieutenant Uhura. Spock stayed silent for a moment, allowing a calmness to fall over the two.

It was in that moment that Ellara realized how much the man still cared for Nyota. He was doing everything possible to stay near her, even if that meant having ridiculous arguments, or agreeing to have a mediated conversation.

At last, he took a breath, and spoke so softly Ellara wasn't even sure if she'd heard him. "I am sure that you have heard the gossip passing through the Enterprise about the Captain leaving the Lieutenant's quarters."

The question was rhetorical; the conversation she had heard on her way over had not been the first she had heard of the situation. Ellara nodded to confirm she had heard. "They are not rumours. Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura have begun a romantic relationship." he continued, brows furrowing slightly.

Ellara studied his face. He looked slightly pained, as though someone had just slapped him in the face, or hit him in the back. Based on her previous thoughts about him, he had been hit. But rather then suffering a physical blow, it was an emotional one. Still… "How do you feel about that?" she asked just as quietly.

It was another beat before Spock turned his gaze to the Counsellor, having to look down to meet her eyes. It was like he was peering into her soul; unsettling, but mesmerizing at the same time. And just as suddenly as he had looked to her, he had looked away and retreated into his cold shell. "I do not have an opinion on the matter. It is simply a fact, to help guide you in further conversation with the Lieutenant and I. Good day, Counsellor."

The Commander then stalked off, leaving Ellara more frustrated then before. That was not the reaction she had been hoping for, however it was the one she had been expecting. Groaning, Ellara stalked back into her room. Getting him to open up about how he felt was going to be an important step in getting him to move on. But how to do it…

—

"You're trying to what?" demanded the man on the other side of the screen.

Ellara sighed. She had explained the situation at least three times now. "I'm trying to get this guy friend of mine to take the stick out of his butt so he can get over his ex-girlfriend."

Clarity dawned in the man's eyes, and he quickly began looking at his nails. Ellara immediately became suspicious. "Rick," she drawled out, "I've known you since the beginning of my academy days. You only look at your nails when you know something."

Rick Legers smirked, glad to know she remembered. "Well, you're right. I do know something. This wouldn't have anything to do with a Commander, a Lieutenant and a Captain on your ship, would it?"

Ellara blanched, shocked at how she knew. She quickly voiced her concern. "I have my ways." he replied cryptically. "But my answer is, crack at this guy slowly. From what I hear, he's literal ice." Ellara rolled her eyes in agreement. "So just take your time. Think of it like those men who delivered ice back in the early twentieth century." Rick's voice gained a romantic tone. "Strong, handsome…" he shook his head as he remembered what he was saying. "They would deliver ice, which people would then chip at when they needed. Or something like that." he giggled.

There was suddenly a great round of shaking on Ellara's end. Rick's face turned white as a sheet, panicking. "What's wrong? Are you alright? Are you dead?" he asked, coming much closer to the screen.

"I'm fine, Rick." she answered, looking to her door. "Probably just a random attack. I'm going to have to go back to my office, though. Will you be alright?" she asked, turning back to her friend.

Rick, although now much happier since he had admitted to himself that he was gay as the fourth of July and engaging in a relationship with the roommate who used to scare him so, was still extremely paranoid. However, he waved her off, and Ellara wished him well before walking out of her quarters.

Through her exploration of the hallways, Ellara tried to figure out what was wrong. She slowly began to piece together an idea of the situation through snippets of conversations she had picked up as the crew rushed about. A Klingon ship had attacked them by surprise, and had unfortunately hit them quite hard. The Enterprise had successfully subdued them, but a lot of people were in the med bay. She slowly began to make her way there before she received a comm from the Doctor. "Ellara, come down to the med bay, quick. I need your- DAMNIT MAN, I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A PRO WRESTLER!" was the only message she received.

Ellara took off in a run towards her previous destination, worried as to what was going on. When she arrived, the sight that beheld her was not anything that she expected. Commander Spock was being held back by several security officers, Bones looking frazzled a few feet away. Ellara deemed it safer to approach the older man first, and steered clear of the volatile Vulcan. "What happened?" she asked, eyeing Spock warily.

Bones scoffed before answering her, "It's Uhura. She got hit with falling debris and is just recovering from surgery. When I told the hobgoblin here that he couldn't come in to the room, he got pissed off and a few words were exchanged, and then he went crazy!" At this point, the man was practically shouting

Ellara placed her hand on his shoulder to calm down, saying, "Easy there. Everything is fine now. I'll go talk to Spock, see what's up and get him out of here. I have a feeling that this is more then just being denied access to Uhura's room." As Ellara went to leave, she quickly turned back to add on something else. "By the way, if she wakes up, tell me, ok?"

The Doctor nodded, and Ellara smiled before turning around once again. She cautiously approached Spock, who when he saw her, calmed down significantly. The two security officers looked towards her, and she nodded, letting the two men knowing that she would be fine. They walked off, leaving Spock and Ellara. Noticing his now rather slouched position, Ellara gestured for him to follow her to the waiting room. The pair took a seat and sat in silence for a beat or two.

"What's up, Spock?" she asked, tilting her head towards him.

The usually stoic Vulcan was looking rather dejected. His hair was slightly dishevelled, his uniform was mussed up, and his face was quite green. "I do not believe anything is currently 'up', Counsellor, although I assume you mean to ask me how I am feeling." he answered grimly.

Ellara chuckled, pleased that he was at least slightly like his normal safe. "Yeah, that's what I mean." she replied.

Spock nodded, staying quiet for a moment. "I get the feeling that this is about more then just Uhura's injury. Am I right?" asked Ellara, probing for answers.

Spock went rigid for a second before nodding. "You are correct in that assumption. My… emotional… behaviour has to do with more then the current situation."

Seeing that he wasn't going to answer unasked questions, Ellara sighed deeply. "What is it, then?"

Spock finally turned his head towards her, looking away from the apparently very fascinating wall. "Prior to the attack from the Klingons, I overheard the Captain asking Lieutenant Uhura on a romantic outing." he finally said.

Ellara quirked an eyebrow, knowing there was more. "So? You already knew they were seeing each other."

"When she accepted, I finally fully comprehended that her and I were no longer…. together." he answered his hand gripping his seat tightly.

"And how did that make you feel?" whispered Ellara, raptured by the slight furrow of his

Spock took a deep breath, looking away again. "I… Counsellor, it hurts." he practically cried.

"Hey, it's alright." she whispered, moving to place her hand on his arm but thinking better of it. "It'll get better." she added.

"Will it?" he asked, looking back towards her.

And in that moment, Ellara felt a pang in her heart. This poor man was desperately broken. He had to be strong and let the woman he loved leave because he wanted her to be happy. It must have hurt even more to know that everyone called him frigid and emotionless all the time, when the truth was so clearly the opposite. Spock seemed to have such a large heart, and no one could see it. He was still waiting for a reply, though, and so Ellara said all she could. "Trust me, it will. It gets better. It stops hurting as much, and you find someone else. As futile and hard as it seems, you have to have faith."

And suddenly the moment was destroyed when a patient walked out of the med bay, laughing with his friend. Spock retreated into his shell, and bid Ellara a good day before walking off. Staring at his retreating form, Ellara felt almost… sad… that he had left. She had had more to say, but she couldn't tell what it was. Fascinating.

* * *

 **That's chapter 13 over and done with! So, some interesting development like I promised. I had to go back and rewrite the ending with Spock all heartbroken and stuff because I originally had him crying on Ellara's shoulder, except I figured that that would be _too_ OOC... Also, sorry if Spock is OOC, I just had to write this though. Remind people that yes he does have emotions, and that he would definitely be hurt by Uhura leaving him. Maybe some more relationship stuff next chapter? Not sure. Oh... wait... I know what I have to write. Heheh. No relationship stuff. Bringing Rendoria back for a bit, though. Sorry, Ellara needs a bit more development. Heheh. God I feel so evil sometimes it's so much fun. That probably makes me sound like a psychopath, doesn't it? Meh. Well, see you guys next chapter!**

 **booklover1798: Will do, heheh.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Yeah, I really wanted to explain. I have soooo much in mind... :D Thank you so much!**

 **TransformersGeek: That's so awesome to hear! Thank you a lot.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated October 4th, 2016.**

 **AN: I changed the update date after finishing this up, and because I don't wanna rewrite the note above... I'm adding this in afterwards. I've had this document sitting for a few days now, and the anticipation to post it is too much, so I'm posting it a day early, lol. Hope y'all enjoy!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Shore leave!" shouted Kirk as he sat down at the table.

It had been a couple of weeks since the incident with Lieutenant Uhura, - who was healing nicely - and she and Spock had slowly started becoming friends again. She now went to him for help when she required help, and he sought her out for chess matches every few days.

The amount of progress compared to that of Lieutenant Uhura's desire to learn Rendorian, however, was astronomical. For the life of her, Nyota was having a great deal of trouble learning simple phrases. Ellara supposed that it was just the fact that she was not a teacher. Although, the prospect of shore leave could be helpful…

"Where are you all going, then?" she asked between bites of French toast. Perhaps, if Uhura had no plans, she could join Ellara on a trip to Rendoria. Then she might have the possibility of learning from someone who was qualified.

"I am going to be visiting Spock Prime on New Vulcan." spoke up Spock.

There were murmurs of appreciation around the table, and Sulu contributed his ten cents with a smile. "I'm going home to my husband and son."

Ellara tilted her head, not having known that Sulu was a father. "How old is your boy?" she asked, curious.

Sulu gained a fond look, happy to remember his family. "He'll be three very soon. I swear, every time I see him, he's completely different."

The table chuckled, amused. "What about you, Ellara?" asked Uhura, smiling at Kirk, who had his arm around her.

Ellara swallowed quickly before answering. "I had actually been meaning to speak to you about that. I'm going to go visit my father on Rendoria, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me? I could introduce you to someone who could help you learn Rendorian a lot better." she suggest, lifting the corner of her mouth in a half-hearted smile.

Uhura though about it for a moment, had a silent discussion with the Captain, then nodded, grinning. "I'd love to."

Ellara's face erupted in a smile. Good. She wouldn't be alone.

* * *

"Nyota, come on!" cried Ellara for the fifth time.

Uhura had been in her room choosing what to wear for the past half hour, and Ellara did not want to be too late to see her father. "Coming." she called back, finally emerging from the bathroom wearing some pants and a nice top. "How do I look?" she asked, nervous.

Ellara gave her two thumbs up before beginning to haul her bag out. The two would be heading to the transporter room to be beamed down to the surface of Rendoria, whereupon Nalli would meet them and walk them home. He had a hovercar, however Ellara wanted to point out the scenery and buildings as they walked. Not to mention that it was better for their legs, and it wasn't a long walk. In most cases, they might have been beamed directly to their destination, but Rendorians, ever the private society, only wanted people to beam down to designated locations. Oh well.

* * *

"And that's where Ellara beat up one of the neighbourhood kids!" laughed out Nalli, pointing to a tree in the park across the street from his house.

Ellara blushed, wondering how it had gotten to this point. When they had landed, Uhura and Nalli had begun to talk about Ellara's childhood, which launched into Nalli showing everywhere that Ellara had gotten into a fight. It was mortifying. "There was a reason for that time." she interjected, grumbling.

Nalli simply quirked an eyebrow. "He'd said that Lywa's stripes were stupid, because they cut across her iris'." she explained, remembering that day.

Ellara, Lywa, Mikin and Bayne had been sitting on the grass, discussing each other's marks. Ellara had only just gotten hers, so she was still in complete and utter awe. They had just finished laughing about the thick stripe that ran horizontally across Mikin's forehead, making it look like she had a headband. Bayne, upset that Ellara had made Mikin laugh and not him(he was sensitive like that), had immediately said that the lines on Lywa's eyes were stupid. Lywa was slightly insulted but took it stride. However, Ellara quickly made up her mind and slapped him across the face. Already angered, this prompted Bayne to try and hit Ellara. She was too quick though, and by the end of their tussle, he had a split lip and a black eye. Mikin brought him home to take care of him, but only after thanking Ellara. She couldn't have done it herself, but she knew that Bayne was out of line for that comment. Ellara had definitely gone too far, but hey, they were a violent culture. They were used to it.

Ellara was brought out of her thoughts by almost tripping over the stairs. This, of course, prompted another round of laughter from Nalli and Uhura. Ellara rolled her eyes before beginning to bring their things inside. This was going to be a long two weeks.

* * *

That evening, as they sat in the living room after supper, Ellara pulled up a map of the town on her father's computer. He had updated it to be holographic since she'd started Starfleet, so it was much faster. Uhura and her peered at the screen, with Ellara showing all of the locations of people she knew who were fluent in both English and Rendorian, and then cross referenced that with all those that were teachers. There was a surprising amount, seeing as there were many educators in her town. It was like a hub. Once she had shortened the list, she went through again two more times, finding the ones that she knew liked her and the ones that would be willing to help.

By the end, Uhura had a list of five people that she and Ellara would visit the next day.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Uhura, throwing her arms around Ellara's neck.

Ellara stiffened up, not used to hugs from people who weren't family. However, she slowly brought her arms around to pat Uhura's back. "No problem." she replied, breathing a small sigh of relief once Uhura let go.

There was a brief moment of silence before Ellara came up with an idea. "Come with me." she said, jogging up the stairs. Nyota followed, albeit slightly confused.

Once she reached her room, Ellara reached into her bedside drawer and pulled out two candles. Grabbing the lighter from her dresser, she walked back downstairs. Finding two plates, she placed them on the table one beside the other and grabbed two pillows to kneel. She placed them on the ground in front of the candle and then got into place. Uhura caught on and quickly copied the Rendorian's movements. "I figured that since you'll be learning language from someone else, you could learn some culture from me. Every night before bed, Rendorians pray to our gods."

Uhura's eyebrows raised in surprise, not having thought that someone so logical and scientific as Ellara would be religious. "I know what you're thinking, blah blah blah, there's no such thing as god, except this isn't really our god."

At Uhura's look of confusion, Ellara continued. "It's been scientifically proven, you see. What happens is that our consciousness joins a different plane of existence and begins guiding our ancestors throughout their lives. Our High Priests and Priestesses are the only people capable of speaking with them. They then relay those messages to us. However, it's not always our relatives who speak to us, and it's just much easier to say it's our gods. So, at night, we pray to them, asking for guidance and safety. They can't really keep us safe, but if they see that someone is planning something malicious towards us, they can interfere through the Priests. And if we seek guidance, they can occasionally push our minds towards opportunities, or at least speak to us through the Priests, giving us help. And so, every night, we pray." At the end of her explanation, Ellara took a deep breath. That was a lot of information.

Uhura clearly agreed that it was a lot, as she took a few moments to think. "Why the candles?" she finally asked, looking at the stick of wax in front of her.

Ellara smiled, glad she'd asked about the one thing she'd forgotten. "It's laced with special herbs, and when it's made, the maker chants some specific prayers so that when it's lit, it draws the attention of our ancestors or anyone willing to help."

Uhura finally nodded, and Ellara passed her a paper with the prayer words on it. "You can join in if you'd like, just make sure to say that" - she gestured to the page - "before praying."

Ellara turned back to her candle and began her prayers, smiling a little when she heard Uhura - albeit very roughly - join in.

* * *

At around midnight, Ellara awoke for the fifth time, shifting the pillow on the couch. Her father's house was small, so Ellara had given up her room so that Uhura would have a place to sleep. Which left Ellara with the couch. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, it was just… well, uncomfortable. Her father had replaced most of the furniture when she had moved out, and after that, he had never really sat still. He always had a project going on. Candle-making, building homes, thrifting furniture and selling it for a discounted price after fixing it up. It kept him busy, he said. He wouldn't get lonely that way.

Ellara had only lowered her head and nodded when he had told her, knowing that he was the only person allowed to grieve her mother forever. He was her soulmate. She was only her daughter. Daughter's moved out. Soulmate's stayed for life. It was the way. Ellara had to get over it. She just… wasn't completely ready yet. But it was alright, she knew that now. Her family might not be proud of the path she'd taken, but it was hers, and she wouldn't let the deceased control the entirety of her life. She just needed a bit more time to get out of it. Needed something to distract her long enough to stop some of the pain. It would come; she trusted the gods. After all, that was what she had prayed for. That, and so that Uhura would be happy with Kirk, and for Spock to stop hurting.

She still saw it sometimes in his eyes. He would see Nyota giggling with Jim, and Spock would look as though he had been stabbed in the gut. She hated seeing it and not being able to do anything other then recommend solutions to help that weren't working. It was up to the gods to help him; that was their duty. They played with mortal souls. Such was life.

With another punch to her pillow then, Ellara slowly drifted back off into a restless sleep.

* * *

 **Chapter fourteen over and done with! Definitely a filler, I apologize. However, I knew that if I continued on with the idea I was going for, it would be like 4,000 words long and it wouldn't be up till next week. Speaking of which, sorry for not updating on the right day. I was on vacation and planned to write, except I didn't. I didn't even do my homework until I was on the car ride back home... Anyway, so, a little insight into her religion and stuff which I am sure I have explained before, and some rambling thoughts from Ellara at the end. Next chapter is going to have the second to last stage of Ellara getting over her family. I swear I wanna punch myself every time I bring it up, but it's important to her, and she needs it to just finally be at peace. More to be revealed why later. Also I'm like so sorry about just digging up the drama again. I feel like a shitty author but I neeeeeeeed it for the development. I swear it wasn't supposed to go on this long but I got distracted. Also I know what I'm doing for the next few chapters so yes. But don't worry, family drama is coming to a close.**

 **booklover1798: Thank you! I sure hope it was interesting...**

 **.129: First off, sorry if it just says like .129 idk why it does that. Second, I'm not sure. I'm hoping for upwards of 30 chapters, but we'll see. I'm about halfway through my notes, so adding that with things that I'm going to want to put in... yeah, upwards of 30 chapters. My star-shining goal of "god I hope I can do that much" is 50. I don't think I'll make a sequel though... not for this one.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: THANK YOU! I really appreciate you saying that, I was worried. And I know that yeah he's half human, I just want to preserve the fact that he was raised Vulcan so it would make more sense to act almost completely Vulcan... that's something I really dislike about other fanfics. Some stories just make it so that he's Vulcan and then as soon as they start dating he's acting completely human which, based on the newer movies, is pretty incorrect seeing as his Vulcan-ness was something that frustrated Uhura in Into Darkness. Um... sorry for rambling woops.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated October 14th, 2016.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

It had been a week since the crew had been on shore leave. There was one more week left, and Ellara was slowly losing her mind. Her father had been having her help him make candles, and her hands were red and raw. She loved him, and she was glad that he could work a little less hard, but his hands were practically all callous. Ellara's were softer, more delicate. It didn't help that whenever Uhura was in her presence, she had to speak in Rendorian. She loved her language, but having to switch from Rendorian to standard every five seconds to explain a word was getting slightly irritating.

Thankfully, her reprieve came in the form of a message from her Captain one cloudy afternoon. Her father had had to go out to get more wax, and so Ellara was lounging on the couch, catching up on some paperwork that had just been sent in. Suddenly, her PADD 'ding'ed, and she quickly opened the message. "Hey Counsellor. Bones is driving me insane. Does your dad have any room in his house for five more? Jim."

Ellara chuckled, thinking of the unfinished basement. She would have to speak with her- Wait, no, she wouldn't. It had just occurred to her that the old lady who owned the bed and breakfast down the street charged very low rates, and according to her father, business was _very_ slow. Perfect. She had a substantial amount of credits in her bank account, so it would be a breeze. She quickly opened up a new message on her PADD to send to Jim. "There's no room in the house, but there's a cute bed and breakfast down the street I can reserve. Just tell me when you'll be arriving and how long you'll be staying. Two night minimum."

Smiling, Ellara hit send and hopped up with vigour as her father returned.

"Nalli." she called out, hearing the door close softly.

"Yes my little fire?"

Ellara chuckled. Little fire was a term of endearment in Rendorian, which sounded(phonetically) like "asbwitchin". When Uhura had first heard him call her that, her eyes had widened in surprise, prompting Ellara to explain. That had been a fun day. "My friends from the starship are going to be staying at the house nearby. Is it alright if I invite them over to dinner while they stay?"

Nalli smiled, glad to see that Ellara had more then one friend. "It's no problem. I'll make your favourite."

Ellara blushed, glad to know her father remembered as he pulled out a worn cookbook. It was then that something else popped into her head. "I'm going to make a separate soup for one of the men. He's Vulcan, and they don't eat meat."

Nalli nodded, and the two began making candles once more.

* * *

It was another half hour before Ellara heard the ding of her PADD, and was pleased to hear that they were going to be staying for the rest of the shore leave, with the arrival being as soon as possible. With that news, she ran out of the house and down the street.

Walking into a cute little building, Ellara quickly spotted Mrs. Kentrin sitting on the couch, reading a very lewd novel. "Mrs. Kentrin! I'd like to make a reservation." she said quickly.

The old woman quickly looked up and snapped her book shut. Her face screwed up quizzically for a moment before opening up in joy. "Ellara Lat'toy! It's been so long." she stood up slowly and hobbled her way over to the much taller woman. Ellara had only the time for a smile before wrinkled arms were wrapped around her waist. "Oh, hello!" she exclaimed in surprise.

She hugged back, relishing in the moment. Mrs. Kentrin had been a good maternal figure to her, helping her cope a little bit. The old woman had lost her own daughter, and so she treated everyone like her child. It was sweet. "How many?" she asked as she began walking to her book. She preferred old fashioned things.

"How many rooms do you have available?" asked Ellara, leaning on a wall.

"Five."

"I'll take them all."

Mrs. Kentrin's eyes widened in surprise, tears glistening. "Thank you." she said softly, grasping Ellara's hands in her own.

"It's no problem. I just have to go tell my friends now. I'll be back soon." she said before running off.

* * *

When she'd arrived home, Ellara sent a message to her Captain, alerting him that rooms had been secured for him and their friends. He'd responded quickly, telling her that they would be arriving shortly and to meet up with them if possible. "Father!" she called, looking around the house for Nalli.

She found him whistling in the kitchen, working on a soup. "What are you doing?" she asked, chuckling.

"I remembered that the last time you visited, you had a Vulcan friend with you. I'm assuming he will also be visiting?" her father replied, looking at her over his half-moon glasses.

Ellara nodded, secretly pleased that he had remembered. "Well, I happen to know that Vulcan's are vegetarians. I put two and two together, so I'm making some Plomeek soup for the man. I learned a few years ago, and I figured it would be a nice surprise for him."

Smiling, Ellara tentatively hugged her father. He may be a little absent minded, but he cared so much. "Thank you." she whispered.

She backed off, adjusting her shirt. "I'm going to go pick them up. See you soon!"

Ellara walked off, making sure to grab some keys on her way out. It wouldn't do to be locked out.

* * *

It was a short walk to her destination, and she was about twenty metres away when she saw swirling lights and then the appearance of her friends. Ellara jogged the remaining distance, greeting her friends accordingly. "Glad you could make it." she said, a wide grin on her face. Noticing Kirk's expectant glance behind her, Ellara looked at him in sympathy. "Uhura is at her lessons. She should be home not long after we get to mine."

Kirk's face erupted with happiness, and Ellara felt her heart lift slightly. It was always nice to see two people in love. It was refreshing. And then she caught a glimpse of Spock behind him. He still looked hurt. Ellara hoped that he'd get over it soon; it wouldn't help anyone to have the Enterprise's First Officer infatuated with the Communications Officer, the girlfriend to his Captain. "Well, come on. I'll walk you to where you'll be staying. It's a bed and breakfast belonging to this sweet woman. You'll all love it!"

With that, everyone began the short trek to their destination. Along the way, conversation flowed easily about their shore leave. Chekov had been visiting his parents, and although he enjoyed seeing them, he missed the crew. Scotty and Keenser were just going from place to place, enjoying their freedom. Bones had gone to visit his daughter, now six. She wanted to "be like her daddy, the booboo-fixer!", much to the annoyance of his ex-wife. Sulu had stayed with his family, and his husband was with him. They would be sharing a room, and their daughter was with his mother. Kirk had been working with Spock, who had decided against visiting his father or Spock Prime.

All Spock had supplied was his whereabouts, so Ellara hung back to speak with him more quietly. "Are you looking forward to the next week?" she asked, looking up at him while she waited for his response.

Spock took a moment to consider his response; he was not sure of what they would be doing in this small village, nor was he looking forward to spending a prolonged amount of time in an apparently violent environment. However, he would be with his friends, so that was adequate. He voiced that last statement, to the apparent pleasure of his walking companion. She hmph'd in satisfaction, and, seemingly noticing his discomfort with small talk, remained quiet for the rest of the journey.

When they'd arrived at the bed and breakfast, Ellara brought them in and had an invigorating conversation with Mrs. Kentrin. When they left to walk to Ellara's house, Spock noticed a novel tucked away under Ellara's arm. She spent a majority of the time walking backwards, telling stories about the places they passed. A large variety of them involved fights she got in, and there was one log in a park they stopped at that had scorch marks on it.

Smiling sadly, Ellara told that story. "I was sitting right there," she pointed to where a majority of the burns were, "talking with Lywa, when I got my marks for the first time. I didn't even notice." she chuckled slightly, remembering that she'd literally been lost in her eyes, too entranced to notice that she was on fire.

"Sounds fun…" trailed off Scott, noticing the very large, burly man stalking towards the group. Everyone backed off, save for Ellara who was too focused on the log. It wasn't until two strong arms encircled around her and were practically squeezing her to death. She began kicking and punching, but stopped abruptly when she felt the body holding her chuckling. She looked down and her face broke out in an ecstatic grin as she saw her old friend. "Bayne!" she cried, hugging him back.

"Little miss Ellie. How nice of you to drop by." he said as he dropped her, ruffling her hair. "You've gotten bigger!" he exclaimed, sizing Ellara up.

"How's Mikin?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Ellara's friends were watching on with curiosity. "Who do you think he is?" questioned Scotty, glancing at Bones.

McCoy looked incredulous, "How the hell should I know?"

"Well, you are her friend."

"Ask the Vulcan. They've been spending almost every minute together lately." he shot back, nodding his chin towards the Science Officer who was standing completely still.

"I would not know. The Counsellor and I mainly discuss our work. It would make more sense to ask

Counsellor Lat'toy herself." replied Spock, calm as ever.

Inside, however, his mind was reeling. Ellara had said before that Rendorians mated for life, so it was highly doubtful that there had been a romantic attachment between the two. It was more likely that the relationship between the two was more familial, which explained their ease of conversation and closeness. For some reason, this thought pacified him, but why, he did not know. This was an interesting development, one he would have to delve into to get a more detailed look when he next meditated.

It was then that Ellara realized she was holding up the group, and, bidding goodbye to Bayne, she began walking the group to her home once again.

* * *

 **Chapter fifteen, am I right? So, just to expand more on "Ellara and Spock spending every minute together", I mean playing chess games on their downtime and sitting beside each other while they eat and having "interesting conversations". Yeah. But tada! Spock's relieved that there's nothing romantic between Bayne and Ellara! Let the romance begin. I should probably add slow burn to the summary... this _is_ the fifteenth chapter and he's only now starting to like her. Wow. Ok. Yeah. So, definitely going to be staying on Rendoria for a while. Some cute Kirk/Uhura moments, as well as some cute basically platonic(grrrr) Spock/Ellara moments! So much excite, lol. Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **xBrownEyedGirlx: Not soon, because I want to let it develop slowly, but it won't be in fifty chapters... maybe.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Haha, that's good. Omg yeah. I just want it to be very satisfying once they do get together. Haha maybe yeah.**

 **booklover1798: Thank you! I aim to do so!**

 **Guest: I like your comment.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated October 21st, 2016.**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Wait, you mean you haven't tried fried pickle-squid?" asked Ellara.

This made no sense! It was a delicacy made by the gods, no doubt about it. Everyone should have the chance to try it in their lifetime, and seeing as the head shakes of the crew indicated they hadn't, that situation would have to be fixed as soon as possible. "Well come on!" she said, dragging Uhura up with her off of the couch. "There's a cute little place ten minutes away."

"Is it a cute little place like the last one?" questioned Kirk suspiciously.

The last outing they had taken had resulted in them getting kicked out. The owner had been upset when he found out that Uhura and Spock used to date, but that she now went out with Kirk. He believed that "no one should leave their mate", and wouldn't listen when they tried to explain that humans didn't have such a thing. it was obvious the man had an unhappy marriage, but Ellara kept silent. She didn't want a fight to start.

Back to the question at hand, she shook her head, knowing that the owner understood very clearly the mating habits of other species. He found it odd, but was not insulted by it and wouldn't kick them out. Kirk breathed out a sigh of relief at her non-verbal response, and held on tighter to Uhura's hand. The two had been practically attached at the hip since they'd been reunited, save for when she left to go learn. It made Ellara happy to know that her friends were enjoying themselves.

On their walk there, the group fell into natural pairs. It was Sulu and Chekov at the back, followed by Bones and Scotty, then Kirk and Uhura. Spock and Ellara lead the front, the only ones to remain in complete silence. Spock disliked small talk, and Ellara preferred lengthy discussions surrounding topics she was passionate about, which required more then ten minutes and a seated position. It was often that the two would sit in her kitchen discussing a new scientific theory.

—

"That was very delicious, lassy." groaned Scotty, sitting back and rubbing his stomach. The meal had gone by smoothly. Conversation had flowed easily, as well as the drinks and food. Ellara smiled, pleased to know that her friends enjoyed the meal.

"Well, what did you think?" asked the owner.

He had snuck up on them, so his question made Ellara jump slightly in her seat and squeal. As everyone conveyed their gratitude to him, Spock turned to her. "Are you quite alright Counsellor?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Ellara smiled. "I'm fine, he just snuck up on me. And I've told you, it's Ellara when we're off duty."

"You two make a cute couple." said the owner before walking off, leaving the bill beside Ellara.

She blanched, sputtering and stammering, looking behind her as though to correct the man. "I do not understand. Why did the owner assume that we are a couple? Our behaviour did not suggest it." asked Spock, just as confused.

The rest of the table was red in the face from restraining their laughter, finding the situation hilarious. "I think it's because we're sitting next to each other, and you asked me if I was alright. I was never really aware of Rendorian dating standards, but I think that for most human couples that's pretty normal." supplied Ellara, having calmed down slightly.

Ignoring the strange event, Ellara quickly paid the bill and the group was off once again. Although she tried not to, she could clearly hear the group whispering behind them. "Spock." she said quietly.

"Yes, Ellara?" he replied.

She turned to him, eyebrows scrunched up. "Can you hear what they're saying behind us?"

Spock nodded, informing her. "They are discussing the events in the restaurant, specifically the final remark of the owner."

Ellara turned her head forwards once again and nodded, puzzled. It made no sense. Why would they talk about it? Spock and Ellara were no more a couple then an owl and a cat.

Little did she know, Spock was having the very same dilemma. Nothing that the two did showed signs of being even remotely romantic, so why would a complete stranger think they were in a romantic relationship? It was puzzling, and he would have to ponder over it at a later time. For now, though, he and Ellara had a vigorous game of chess to pursue.

—

"You cheated, I'm sure of it." scowled Ellara, furious at having lost for a third time that night.

Spock tilted his head a fraction to the left. "That is illogical, Ellara. Why would I cheat when I could win the game without doing so?"

It took a moment, but Spock's sass sunk in and Ellara's face brightened considerably. "I don't know, Spock."

She turned her head towards the stairs as a noise sounded from them, and Ellara's father stepped off the edge, rubbing his eyes. Glancing into the kitchen, he let out a sigh. "It's three in the morning. What are the two of you still doing up?"

Ellara's eyes widened in surprise as she confirmed that it was, in fact, the next day. "We didn't realize, pop." she turned to Spock. "I guess this is a good time to say goodnight."

"It is indeed." replied Spock as he stood up. "I enjoyed our matches and look forward to the next one."

As he was leaving, Ellara muttered under her breath, "Of course you did. You won."

Spock paused for a moment, and then continued. It was obvious that he had heard. While she cleaned up, her father finished off the glass of water he had gotten up for. "So, you two are awfully close." he said as he passed through.

"What are you talking about?" Ellara shot straight up from her position over the living room table to stare at Nalli.

He waved a hand in mirth, letting out a lighthearted, "Nothing, nothing."

"No seriously." shot Ellara, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Nalli took a seat on the stairs, inviting his daughter to sit next to him. She accepted, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm just saying, it's been three days since he's been here, and you've been attached at the hip. Hell, I think you might have actually ignored the others a little bit to spend time with him."

Ellara blushed, realizing what he was really implying. "We're just friends…" she protested, moving away a bit.

"And that's alright. But you and Lywa were friends. Your mother and I were friends. Maybe it's time you thought about being a bit mo-"

Ellara stood straight up at that. "I don't feel that way about him. It was different with me and Lywa. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Nalli sighed as he watched his daughter stomp up the stairs. She would need to come to terms with it. The feelings between the two were fairly obvious; it was impossible that no one else had noticed.

—

"I'm gonna miss you," whispered Ellara, "with all of my heart."

She was clutching onto her father like he was about to disappear. "Little fire, it's not the end of the world. You're not even leaving the planet yet!" he chuckled.

Nalli was a little shocked at how affectionate his daughter was being with him. He was certain that it had something to do with how he brought up memories, but Nalli would bet his money that the conversation he'd overheard yesterday played into it.

" _You know, you and your dad talk affectionately, but I rarely see you hugging or anything." commented Uhura over her cards. "Do you have any kings?"_

 _"_ _Go fish. And what do you mean? Nalli and I are extremely close." Ellara replied, frowning._

 _Uhura smirked. She placed a set of cards beside her. "Not really. You call him by his first name, of all things. Most humans only do that when they have a bad relationship with their parents."_

 _"_ _Got any aces?" asked Ellara, before answering. "And he and I are perfectly fine. There's no hard feelings between either of us. He was just away all of the time, so he feels more like a big brother then a father."_

 _Uhura quirked her eyebrow at the completely bullshit response, but sighed and handed over two aces. "If you say so."_

"Tell Miya I say hello, by the way. It's been a while since I've visited her." he added on.

Reluctantly, Ellara let go of her father and nodded. "Will do. Till next we meet." she said, stepping into the car she was loaning from her father. He wouldn't be home when she would come back, as he was going on a trip, so she was leaving the keys with his neighbour.

As Nalli watched his daughter drive away, he whispered, "Till next we meet, my daughter."

* * *

 **Eeeeeeh! Chapter sixteen finished up! I would like to thank my lovely beta reader, TransformersGeek, for looking over this and making it much, much better! So, this was a teensy-weensy bit of a filler, slightly short for my taste... ;/ But, alas, if I had added in the next event, it would have dragged on(at least in my opinion). Therefore, we have a lot to look forward to in the next chapter! I swear I'm sorry I say that each time haha. In other news, omg everyone is all "Spock and Ellara"... that definitely came out of nowhere I really need to work on that... Ummm... anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to posting the next one!**

 **TransformersGeek: Thank you vv much!**

 **booklover1798: Thank you! Love you too! Will do!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: EYOOO! SO MUCH RENDORIAN! ...Jk lol. But that's great to know, I appreciate it!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated October 28th, 2016.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"So," began Kirk, looking at Ellara as he held Nyota's hand, "where are we walking to?"

It had been an hour since the remainder of the group had gotten out of the car. Sulu, Scotty and Chekov had gone back to the ship early, leaving Jim, Nyota, Spock, and Ellara to their trip. They were currently hiking a steep mountain towards a giant tower. Over top were dark clouds swirling above ominously. "We're going to see the Priests and Priestesses. I have to deliver some candles to them on the behalf of Nalli, and it'll be good to seek their counsel." replied Ellara, pausing a moment to catch her breath.

She hadn't climbed this mountain in years, so she wasn't as used to the physical exertion anymore. The Captain was already sweating a little bit. Looking down, Ellara saw how far they'd come. The buildings were almost indiscernible. "Not that far now." she murmured as she looked back up.

 _Almost there, though tEllara. "Come on, sweetie!" called Nalli from farther ahead. "Not that far now."_

 _Taking a deep breath, Ellara continued on her journey. As she crested the mountain, she stared up in awe at the tower standing before her. It had to be at least one hundred floors, coloured a gorgeous red with gold markings all over. It was the most elegant structure Ellara had ever seen, and she'd met the richest man on Rendoria! Walking about were dozens of men and women who were completely white. Their eyes, hair, skin, and clothing were a sharp contrast against the deep green lushness. An old man, hunched over, came over to the father and daughter to escort them inside._

 _In the building, it was even more extravagant. Plush furniture, and a view all the way up to the top from the middle of the structure. There was an office to the right, with the staircase to the left. A perfumed smoke came out from the first few floors. Candles, like the ones Nalli was about to offer._

 _Ellara followed her father into the office, whereupon she saw a civilian sitting behind a computer. Her father spoke with the woman while Ellara glanced around even more. A tall woman walked passed, but froze as soon as she saw Ellara. "Child," she began kneeling down. "Your family."_

 _Ellara's eyes widened. Could this woman really hear her mother and friend? "Yes?" she asked quietly._

 _The woman's eyes furrowed in pity. "They're disappointed in the path you'll take. You won't ever make them proud. Don't try." she said before getting up and walking away._

 _Tears welled up in Ellara's eyes as she stared at the woman's retreating form. Another girl followed behind, looking on sadly at the seventeen year old who's eyes were welling up. "Come on, Ellara. Time to go." said Nalli, not noticing his daughter's distress._

 _At her father's voice, Ellara quickly stiffened up. She wouldn't cry in front of him. He wouldn't help, so what was the use? She didn't dislike him for his frigidness. In fact, Ellara appreciated it. She might end up being stronger because of it._

"Ellara?"

The counsellor snapped out of her stupor. Looking around, she realized that the group had reached the top.

"Are you ok?" asked the concerned voice of Uhura.

Regaining her sense, Ellara realized that Kirk had his hand on her shoulder, looking at her with worry in his eyes, which were mirrored in Uhura's. Spock was standing off to the side, a slight frown in his gaze. "I'm… I'm fine. Sorry. I got caught up in memories." she replied with a tight-lipped smile.

The others warily accepted her response before taking in their surroundings. It was still just as majestic as ever, with its elegance and glamour. Hiking up the box in her arms, Ellara trudged forwards. It wouldn't do to dwell. "Ellara? Ellara Late Toy?"

Although maybe dwelling could be useful. Turning around quickly, Ellara's eyes widened. "Sapphire!" she called, spotting the ten year old charging toward her. She swiftly placed the boxes on the ground before stumbling back from the force of a child's hug. "Oof!"

"You're here you're here you're here!" exclaimed the young one as she jumped up and down in glee.

Ellara kneeled, ruffling Sapphire's hair as she did so. "It would seem that I am. Gosh, you've grown so big."

Standing back up, Ellara introduced the group to the young High Priestess. "Guys, this is Sapphire. Sapphire, this is Commander Spock, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, and Captain James Kirk." she said, pointing each person out as she said their names.

The Captain kneeled, taking Sapphire's hand in his own and kissing the back of it. "M'lady." he said charmingly.

She giggled, hiding her face in Ellara's pants. Tugging on her shirt, Sapphire signalled she wanted to whisper to Ellara. The woman kneeled down to be at the right level for Sapphire to whisper in her ear. "He's really pretty." whisper-shouted the young one.

Ellara chuckled, looking at Nyota. "She thinks he is."

Sapphire shook her head. "No. I mean the man standing over there." Sapphire pointed at Spock.

Ellara was taken aback, as was Spock. "Oh?" asked Ellara, her voice breaking a bit in surprise.

Sapphire giggled when Spock looked over, and she nodded at Ellara. "Is he your boyfriend?" Sapphire once again whisper-shouted.

Ellara shot straight up, a blush tinting her cheeks. "No, he isn't. Aren't you supposed to be eating?" Ellara changed the topic abruptly.

Sapphire's eyes widened before she nodded her head and hugged Ellara goodbye. The Rendorian looked on with happiness as the Priestess skipped into the building. "Come on guys." she said.

The group finally entered the tower, directing their sights to the office. While Ellara gave the candles to the woman sitting at the desk, Spock listened in on Kirk and Nyota's conversation. It wasn't morally right, however, he had heard his name being mentioned.

"Even that little girl can see it!"

"I know! How blind can two people be, especially when one is a Vulcan?"

"All set guys?" asked Ellara from right behind the whispering couple.

They quickly sprang apart with a shout, Kirk clutching his shirt in surprise. "Jesus Ellara! Make some noise when you sneak up behind people."

"That would defeat the purpose of 'sneaking up', Jim." Spock pitched in for Ellara's defence.

Kirk shook his head as they began walking out.

Suddenly, a woman sprang into Ellara's path. "Why, if it isn't Ellara Lat'toy. We thought we would never see you here again." she practically snarled.

"Marian." grumbled out Ellara. "What do you want?"

A smirk appeared on the older woman's face. "Why, to tell you the good news. My most long-standing prophecy came true."

Ellara's face morphed into one of confusion. Long-standing prophecy? "What kind of bull-"

"Ah, ah, ah. You know the rules. No swearing." mocked Marian.

Ellara rolled her eyes before retrying, "What do you mean?"

"Your family. I was right. They are disappointed in your path." Ellara's face turned grave. "Have a nice day."

The Counsellor could only watch on as the High Priestess walked away, slamming her shoulder into Ellara's.

A tall man walked over, shooting daggers at Marian's back. "She's wrong, you know." he said.

"What do you mean?" whispered Ellara, tears beginning to spring up in her eyes.

He gave her a pitying smile. "Your family. They're proud of you. She just hates that most of the people here like you more than her. You've been all anyone could talk about for the past few days and it's rubbing her the wrong way, so she's using her status to try and break you. Don't let it work, okay?"

At the call of "Pithen!", the man turned his head, waved goodbye, and walked off.

Shaking her head, Ellara began leaving the building, her good mood ruined. "Let's go. Time to get back to the ship."

Kirk and Nyota glanced towards each other, worried. Spock moved to walk beside Ellara, the two staying in companionable silence.

It was ten minutes before he broke it. "Ellara, I do not pretend to know what that woman meant. However, it would make no sense to linger on what your dead relatives think of your life. They are not here to guide you. Only you can make your own choices."

Ellara nodded to show she had heard, and the silence once again fell on the group. Another ten minutes later, Ellara whispered out, "Thank you."

Spock stood a little straighter. He did not understand how the Rendorian religious system worked. However, if her mother was as loving as she said, Ellara would always have her blessing to do whatever she wished.

* * *

 **Once again, this chapter is pretty short, which irritates me, but yay! Some development! Also, Sapphire is, in fact, the little girl that Ellara and Lywa's family went to pick up when Lywa and Meritha died. But, uh, yeah! Chapter! Next chapter should contain the end of all the family drama, so look forward to that! Also, drunk Ellara. Next chapter. Not... not this chapter lol. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you next week! Also, huge thank you to my beta reader TransformersGeek for fixing this up!**

 **booklover1898: Thank you so much!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: That's great to hear! Right, probably should explain. I wrote it in my note's but I guess I forgot to write it here... woops. Rendorians mate for life _unless_ their partner dies or they split up for their own reasons, in which case they are able to go about finding a partner. However, it happens so rarely that they prefer to stay alone due to the difficulty of finding someone who shared their values and understood them as well.**

 **TransformersGeek: Yeah, I really appreciate it!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated November 4th, 2016.**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"I'm so glad to be back!" shouted Kirk, running up to the Captain's seat and placing his derrière on the plush upholstery. "Oh, yes." he groaned, closing his eyes in pleasure. "Just how I remembered it being."

Ellara chuckled at her Captain's antics, pleased to hear he was enjoying himself. "Captain's log, stardate 2265.167, we have…" His voice faded out as Ellara took in the date.

2265.167. Ten years ago tomorrow would be the anniversary. Ellara's face turned grim, but she swallowed down her sadness. This was not the time for that…

"Hey." Ellara heard the caring voice of Uhura, simultaneously feeling her shoulder be nudged. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Ellara smiled and nodded, not entirely untruthful. Nyota, however, looked unconvinced. "I swear, I'm fine. I just don't want to go back to work yet. But I'll see you later, ok?" She nodded as she walked off, avoiding more questioning.

That was close, she thought. No need to tell others what she was thinking. It was extremely unhealthy, but there was no need. They all had their own problems to worry about.

Getting to her office, Ellara sighed deeply as she sat down. Paperwork. Yay. She got to work, albeit reluctantly, but only after beginning to play some music. There was no reason she couldn't bob her head along while sh- gosh darn it she wrote down the words on her paper. And she was using a pen. "Oh my god." moaned Ellara, placing her head in her hands. Could she not get anything right?

Opening her drawer, Ellara groaned in frustration. No more white out. She'd have to go get some from someone else. Who was close by…?

Pondering her situation for a while, Ellara realized that Commander Spock's office was nearby. Gathering her bag(making sure to place her paperwork inside), Ellara headed out.

It was a short walk to the Commander's office, and was ended by Ellara knocking briskly on his door. "Come in." came Spock's muffled voice.

Ellara opened the door and stepped into the doorway, glancing around the room. There was a desk, various filing cabinets and a chair. All in all, the room was extremely under-decorated, which was to be expected. Vulcan's, she assumed, did not see the need for decoration. There was a small plant on the corner of his desk, but that was the only burst of colour.

"Yes, Counsellor?" asked Spock, beginning to rise from his desk.

Ellara caught herself in her thoughts and quickly burst into action. "Oh no, please, stay seated. I just wanted to ask if you had any white-out." she exclaimed.

The Commander sat back down, opening a drawer and pulling out a small white container. "Please make sure to return it."

Ellara raised an eyebrow before grabbing the bottle. "If you'd like," she began while moving closer, "I could just fix up my paper here."

The Commander thought for a moment before giving a curt nod. He watched as Counsellor Lat'toy opened the bag across her chest and pulled out a few sheets of stapled paper. On the third page were words that clearly had nothing to do with paperwork about an anxious crewmember. "Counsellor." he started, gaining Ellara's attention as she furiously ran the white out along her paper.

"Mhmm." she mumbled, barely looking up.

Spock took a moment, swallowing slowly, before inquiring something puzzling. "The words on your page, are they from a song?" he asked.

Ellara froze up, glancing up at him before nodding. "Ye-yes." she stuttered, rushing to get back to her covering up of the page.

Nodding, Spock thought for a while longer. Finally, he asked what he had really intended. "Why is the way that the woman is wrapping around the man a problem?"

It took a second for the words to sink in, but once they did, Ellara choked on her breath and stumbled back a bit. She hadn't realized that he'd read the words on her page. Oh dear god. "Well…" she started, sinking down into the chair in front of his disk. "The…. the singer is saying that it's a problem because… it, uhm, feels really good." Ellara mumbled the last part, feeling her entire face flush a deep purple.

"Why would a good feeling be a problem?" he asked, his eyebrow beginning to raise quizzically.

Ellara felt her face impossibly become an even darker colour. She was sure that if she saw it, it could be compared to an eggplant. "Because he's not the type to call girls back the next day." was her whispered reply.

Two beats later, and Spock had some green tinge on his cheeks and ears. "Fascinating…" he mumbled, looking back down at his paperwork.

Ellara clenched her lips together tight, feeling the awkward tension in her skin. Closing the white out and placing it back on Spock's desk, she said a simple "Thanks" before putting her papers back in her bag and practically bolting out of the room.

Taking a breather, Ellara put her back to the wall beside his office and leaned her head back. "Oh my god that was embarrassing."

Shaking her head, she continued down the hall back to her own room, trying to avoid thinking about that awkward moment.

* * *

"Spock!" called the Captain, spotting his First Officer walk onto the bridge. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"Greetings, Captain." said the Vulcan.

"C'mon, Spock." groaned Kirk. "No need to be so stiff."

Spock decided to not respond, seeing as nothing he could say would change the Captain's opinion. Instead, he chose to comment on Jim's first remark. "Why am I the man you wish to see, Captain?"

As Spock turned to his station, he heard Kirk stand and walk up behind him. He turned his head as he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, and saw the blond man leaning slightly over him.

Jim took a deep breath before turning and sitting on the console. "Because, Spock, I'm trying to get a hold of Ellara, but she's not answering. The ship says she's in her room, and she is technically off duty right now, but as the ship's counsellor, she's usually always available."

Spock frowned, wondering why exactly the Counsellor was not responsive. "I see. That is quite peculiar."

Kirk let out a small noise in agreement before clapping his First Officer on the shoulder and rushing out, "I want you to go check up on her."

By the time that Spock registered what exactly had been said, Kirk was halfway back to his chair. "I am afraid I do not understand, Captain."

Jim paused, heaving a deep sigh. Turning around and rolling his eyes, he walked back over. "I think that something might be wrong with her. And, since she's your friend, I think it makes sense that you be the one to see if she's okay."

Spock paused for a moment to consider the Captain's word, before agreeing. "Very well, Captain. I shall return momentarily."

Turning away from the console, Spock walked briskly to the elevator. It did not take long for him to arrive at Ellara's quarters, but when he did, he felt slight apprehension. This was her private space, and she could just be sleeping.

However, the Captain felt that there was something wrong, and he was correct in the assumption that they were… friends. Raising his hand, Spock delivered a stiff knock to the door.

From inside, he could not hear much, but he was able to make out a small 'thunk', followed by a mumbled exclamation of pain. "Who is it?" the slurred voice of Ellara called out from inside.

"Commander Spock." the man replied.

Ellara furrowed her brows. What could fun-o-fun Spocky be doing outside her door? Crawling on all fours, she made her way to the entrance. When she arrived, though, she felt quite dizzy, and instead decided to lean her head on the door while she spoke. "Wha-do-you-wan?" she asked, a small grin on her face at how she sounded.

Spock raised an eyebrows from outside. Her voice sounded much closer, and it was fairly obvious at that point that she was at least mildly intoxicated. "The Captain sent me to see if you were unwell." he said after clearing his throat.

Ellara giggled, finding Spock's formal language funny. "You can tell him that I…. I am a well." she said, before bursting out in laughter.

It didn't take long for it to turn into sobs, though, as she remembered why, exactly, she was in this state.

Upon hearing her crying, Spock decided to take action and asked her to open the door. From farther away this time, he heard Ellara yell, "Door, open."

Surprisingly enough, her slurring registered and the door opened for him. He tentatively took a step inside, looking around at the environment. On the desk was an empty bottle of Terran beer, a few more littered in the trash can. From under the desk, a bottle of vodka could be seen poking out, a tanned hand with purple stripes holding on to the neck.

"Ellara?" asked Spock, moving so he could see the Rendorian hiding under the desk.

Ellara was rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face. "It's… hick… It's ok Spock. I do this every year." she muttered, looking absolutely miserable.

"You intoxicate yourself and hide under a desk?" he asked with the raising of an eyebrow.

A small smile spread across Ellara's face. "Are you sassing me, Spock?" she asked.

At the lack of reply, Ellara sighed before slowly crawling out, leaving the bottle behind. "Yes, yes I do. Today is the anniversary of my family's death, and this is how I cope." she groaned as she popped the bones in her back.

"But your father is still alive." stated Spock.

Ellara hung her head, not up to explaining everything. However, she pushed on. "He's alive in body, but emotionally, he died the day my mother did. He just puts up a pretense every once in awhile to make me feel better."

At this point, Ellara had made her way over to her bed. There was a beat of silence before she simply fell face first and groaned into her pillow.

Spock realized that she must not feel well, and took large strides to her bathroom. Inside the medicine cabinet, he found an aspirin, and quickly grabbed a glass of water from the replicator. Ellara had realized his plan and sat up to accept his blessed offerings. She nodded her thanks before swallowing the pill and downing the glass of water. "Thanks, Spock." she murmured as she slowly fell back down. "You're a-" she stopped to yawn, "a good friend."

Spock looked on as Ellara slowly fell asleep, and quietly made his way out of her room. He would have to discuss this with her when the Counsellor awoke. But for now… for now, he would go back to the bridge and let her sleep. Ellara was clearly having issues, and she needed help. However, right now was not the time.

* * *

Ellara woke up the next day to a pounding headache. "Ooooh wooow that was not a good idea." she groaned.

Not a minute later, Ellara found her head in the toilet as she heaved up what remained of last night's drunken escapade into her memories. "Why do I do this every year?" she wondered as the water in the shower heated up.

Quickly stripping her clothes, Ellara tried to stand up to get in, but found that it only made her head dizzy. Instead, she took the more sensible route and practically dragged herself into the shower, only to curl up into a little ball. From her viewpoint, she could see the multiple bottles littering her room. Maybe… maybe it was time for a change.

A half hour afterward, the Rendorian was dressed and had downed a homemade concoction that helped with hangovers. She had thrown away all of the trash, made her bed, and cleaned her toilet from the mess she had left.

Silently, she walked across the room with a long, thin candle held in her hand. She was lighting much larger ones at all four points. Once that was done, Ellara sat in the middle of the room, her legs underneath her. She began muttering a small prayer to the gods, in hopes that they would help her. "Please." she murmured, shutting her eyes. "I know I have asked this before, but I need your help. I tried. I took the opportunity you gave me to get over them, but it's not working. Please." her voice broke. "I can't take this anymore."

No sooner had she finished did Ellara hear a formal knock at her door. She rose, turning to face the entrance, and opened the entryway. Standing on the other side was Commander Spock. It didn't take long for her to remember what had happened the previous night, and her face flushed purple. "Commander." she muttered, looking down at her feet.

"Counsellor Lat'toy." started Spock. "I believe we must have a discussion."

Ellara quietly nodded her head, letting Spock inside. As she motioned for him to take a seat on one of the various couches, she moved around him to extinguish the candles and raise the lights. Sighing, she herself sat down, back stiff. "What do you want to talk about?" asked Ellara, knowing exactly what he was there for.

After all, she had come to the conclusion herself only minutes prior, and she would be lying if she said that the Commander had not figured out what had to be done the moment he saw her intoxicated beyond belief.

"I believe that you require some counselling yourself, Counsellor." he said without reservation.

His candor slightly shocked Ellara, but she took it in stride. "I agree," she began. Spock's eyebrow raised a fraction in surprise. "I had, in fact, realized as much just before you arrived. I'm planning on contacting a friend who could help me."

If he were fully human, Spock was sure that his mouth would be flapping open and closed like a fish. He was expecting some insults, maybe even a warning, seeing as he was invading her privacy to a degree. Spock was glad to know, however, the Counsellor Lat'toy had common sense and knew when her actions could put others as risk, as well as recognize a solution. "That is acceptable, Counsellor." he finally got out, moving to rise. "I shall see you this afternoon for chess." The final statement was more of a confirmation that their rendezvous was still on.

Ellara nodded as she escorted the Commander to her door. "I look forward to it." she said with a smile. It turned into a grin as she teased him next, "Maybe this time, I'll even beat you."

Spock caught on to her tone, and replied, "Highly doubtful, Counsellor, seeing as you do not even attempt to plan your next moves. Farewell."

Closing her door, Ellara chuckled, enjoying the company of her friend. _Maybe more,_ a snarky voice in her mind called out. Frowning, Ellara shook her head to rid herself of the thought as she went to the bathroom to tie up her hair. There was no reason that Commander Spock could or would be anything more than a friend. They didn't see each other like that. She could never see him like that. Right?

* * *

 **And there we have chapter eighteen! I'm sorry that it's five days later then the second posting date, however, I had some trouble getting back into the writing swing. I'm all good now, haha. Not going to lie, this chapter was extremely fun to write. Whoever manages to guess what song Ellara was listening to first gets a shoutout! I don't think it'll be too hard, but you never know. Anyway, I'm going to take a moment now to reflect on what exactly I'm going to write next, because... wow. Yeah. But yay! She's doubting her completely platonic feelings for our favourite stoic Vulcan! Which, to be honest, isn't much, but it's better then before... good thing I wrote slow burn in the summary, amiright? Haha... heh... Yeah. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to write/post the next one! :) ALSO! This chapter, without the author's notes, was over 2,500 words long! I feel really happy about that.**

 **booklover1898: That's good to know, thank you!**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Comment #1 - Yeah, Sapphire is the cute little niece character who you don't see often but you wanna just hug to death whenever you do. Thank you so much! And there wasn't as much drunkenness as I had hoped, but there's always more opportunity for a happier drunk Ellara in the future! :) Comment #2 - I get what you mean. :/**

 **DemontaDark: Thank you, very very much.**

 **NeoMulder: Thank you! I am definitely planning on writing this story to it's completion, although how long it'll take will depend on how long I want it to be... dear lord I could be writing this for a year.**

 **TransformersGeek: Awwww yis.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated November 23rd, 2016.**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Counsellor Lat'toy, I'd like to speak with you." came the muffled voice of Lieutenant Uhura from the other side of the door.

Ellara jolted up, snapped out of her bubble that she had placed herself in while solving a puzzle. Her entire office floor was covered in tiny mismatched pieces, with one giant mural coming together in the center. All of the furniture had been pushed back, giving her just enough room. "Just a second!" she called back, suddenly feeling guilty for her actions.

Ellara glanced around worriedly as she tried to figure out a way to hide her work. Her eyes landed on a blanket conveniently placed on her couch, and it was as though a lightbulb went off in her head. She grabbed it and threw it over the scattered pieces. It wasn't necessarily completely camouflaged, but she could come up with another excuse while she explained. Taking a seat at her desk, Ellara calmly called out, "Come in."

The door opened, and immediately, Ellara saw the raised eyebrow of the Lieutenant. "Working on a puzzle?" she asked, picking up a stray piece.

Ellara cursed under her breath, disappointed with herself for not checking more thoroughly. "You caught me." she groaned, running a hand through her cropped hair. "I spend most of my time doing things like this." She took a breath, standing up. "I mean, it's not like there's anything else to do. I've already seen every crew member to just let them know I exist and see if there are any people who might need immediate attention, and no one else seems to need my help."

Without meaning to, she had begun to ramble, but noticing the very unenthused expression on her friend's' face, she stopped. "Sorry. Uh, what was it you needed help with?" asked Ellara.

At this, Uhura glanced away, looking for a place to sit. Ellara spotted a chair that was unused, and gestured towards it while saying, "Please, have a seat."

Once the two were in a more comfortable position facing each other, Uhura began to speak. "It's Jim. I'm worried about him. He keeps pulling one reckless stunt after another, and he won't stop placing his life on the line!"

The sound of Uhura's frustration struck a familiar chord in Ellara. After all, that was the spark that burned out her's and Spock's relationship. This would mean that the situation had to be handled with the utmost caution. Ellara could tell that Uhura and Jim worked well together, so it would not do well to set them on the path of destruction. "Nyota, what is Jim's job?" she asked calmly.

Uhura took a moment to think, wondering if it was a trick question. "He's Captain of a starship." she said cautiously.

"And what does that job entail?"

"Taking care of the crew, directing the ship, things like that."

Ellara nodded, glad to see that they were on a good start. "And what is our fine Captain's most dominant trait?"

"He's… He can be fairly heroic and stupidly brave."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Ellara. "It's a part of who he is. He always wants to save the damsel in distress, whether it's a planet or a literal damsel. Jim Kirk considers himself a hero, and he probably always will. You can't change that. You can, of course, ask him to try and be a bit safer when he goes on away missions, but trying to change his core being will not end well. For the both of you."

Ellara stood up, seeing that the meeting was drawing to a close. "I recommend that you talk to him about it as soon as possible. Make him listen to what you have to say, and figure out a solution."

The Lieutenant nodded, starting to walk off. "And Uhura?" she called out. The woman turned around. "Try not to put it off."

Nyota smiled and nodded, but stopped just before stepping out. "You know…" she began, staring down the Counsellor. "Sometimes when you talk, I almost feel like I'm talking with Commander Spock." Ellara raised an eyebrow in curiosity, causing Nyota to smirk. "You two are very similar. I could see that being a thing. See you tomorrow."

Watching Uhura's retreating form, Ellara blinked in confusion several times. _What was that all about,_ she thought, uncovering her puzzle. _Spock and I? No way. Not at all. No siree._

* * *

"Did it work?" said the Captain as soon as Uhura joined him in his quarters.

She nodded enthusiastically, a large grin spread across her face. "She was so confused, she's definitely going to start over-analyzing everything."

"You know, I would never have thought you would be a little bit of a matchmaker," said Kirk, smiling at his girlfriend.

Nyota chuckled, looking down at their intertwined hands. "A little bit?"

Jim rolled his eyes, finally looking into her own. "Ok, a lot. But good job. I couldn't have come up with the idea to confuse Spock and Ellara into a relationship. After thinking about it, though, yeah. Yeah, it'll definitely work."

The two giggled together before sitting down to eat a nice, romantic meal.

* * *

It was five days later, and Ellara was still working on the puzzle. She was, however, once again interrupted. Although this time, it was by her comm unit beeping incessantly. "Counsellor Lat'toy." she replied rather sharply.

"Ellara, get your striped ass down here. I have about five patients who are freakin' out, and it'd be too risky to give them something to knock 'em out." came the gruff voice of one Leonard McCoy.

Turning her head away, Ellara let out a sigh, before answering with a "Be right there" and flipping her comm shut.

She cast a longing look at her puzzle before standing up and walking out of her office.

It was a short walk to the med bay, and she entered 'helpful mother' mode as soon as she walked through the doors. Nurses and doctors were running around everywhere, and patients occupied many cots. Some were moaning in pain and others were completely knocked out. She saw a sheet covering one bed, with a crying alien woman kneeling beside. She hadn't seen her before, so Ellara assumed that they had picked her and the person on the bed up during the latest away mission. Spotting the Doctor running a hand through his hair, Ellara walked to him, surveying the room. "What happened?" she asked quietly, almost too scared to ask.

"Klingons." was all he said before rushing off to the aid of a patient.

Ellara walked around, soothing various crew members and pacifying them, even managing to lull a few to sleep. She was holding the hand of a human Ensign when Kirk walked in, practically carrying his First Officer.

The Captain was a little worse for wear, with various cuts and scrapes littering his face. However, the First Officer was the one in serious need of help, if the extensive amounts of green blood covering the Captain's side wasn't obvious enough. He was groaning in pain, almost unconscious, and there was a wound in his chest that was glistening a dark green.

"Bones!" called Jim, passing spock over to the medical officer. "He needs help."

McCoy nodded and dragged off Spock to a side room, while Jim collapsed into a stiff chair. Ellara grabbed an ice pack from a nearby table and brought it over to him, crouching down to be eye level.

She held it up to his cheek, keeping it there while Jim melted in his seat. "Captain." she asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to the question she was about to ask.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, sluggishly opening on eye partway.

"What happened?" was her only response.

"We were supposed to get an introduction to the planet from the scientist over there," he gestured towards the crying woman from earlier, "but the Klingons showed up. My guess is that she had some information about some illegal business in the area, and they were worried she was going to spill. We weren't doing too bad at fighting them off, but her husband-" Jim winced as he shifted in his chair. "He jumped in front of a phaser blast and saved her. Spock got hit trying to get her to safety."

Ellara glanced down in worry, wondering why she felt like there was a vice-like grip on her heart. Was this… concern? For the life of the ship's First Officer? That's what it seemed to be. But it made no sense- they were barely friends. Well, she enjoyed his company, and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about, and sometimes when the light shone on him just right, she could see his long, brown eyelash- _Oh my god I like him_.

Ellara practically forced the ice pack into Jim's hand before standing up with a jolt. She began to pace back and forth, shaking her head and muttering things to herself. Hidden behind his hand was the small smirk of her Captain, glad to know his and Nyota's plan had worked.

The pacing continued for a good five minutes, only being interrupted once Doctor McCoy walked out of the room currently occupying Ellara's favourite Vulcan. "How is he?" she asked almost immediately.

"Stable." he replied gruffly. "Damn hobgoblin barely avoided a shot to the heart."

Ellara practically threw herself backwards into a chair. "Oh thank the ancestors." she breathed out, clutching a hand to her chest.

Bones raised and eyebrow before approaching his friend. "Hey Jim, it looks like there's a bit of face on your bruise." he said, the corner of his mouth lifting up for a half-second.

"Ha ha, very funny, Bones." shot back Jim. "Do you have anything to help?"

"Well, there's always my fist that'll get rid of it."

Jim shot Bones an exasperated look, knowing the Leonard knew that that was not what he meant.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled out a tube from his pocket, saying, "But I have this bruise cream that should help."

While the two bickered back and forth, Ellara approached Spock's cot. He had been wheeled out, and now lay unconscious on it. There were a few spots of green on the sheet from some blood that had bled through, but he otherwise looked unharmed. He seemed peaceful, in fact. As though all of his worries had evaporated into thin air.

Ellara sighed as she sat down. _What do I do now?_ she thought. _He's my commanding officer, and a- well, not close, but a friend. How do I deal with this? We were finally getting close. Oh jesus, and he's Uhura's ex boyfriend._ Groaning, Ellara's head fell into her hands. This would not be very pretty.

* * *

"You should've seen her!" cackled Jim, plopping a grape into his mouth.

"How much does she like him, do you think?" asked Uhura, smiling.

He looked away, thinking. How much could Ellara like Spock? "Well, when she found out what happened, she started pacing like crazy, then she practically pounced Bones for information, and then she immediately sat down next to Spock and just sort of… stared, I think."

Uhura replied enthusiastically. "A lot, then. I wonder what she's going to do next." she murmured the last part, looking down.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." said the blond man with slight arrogance.

"Guess so."

* * *

 **Ooh la la, chapter nineteen! This one is just shy of 2k, but I feel like it packs a lot of info! I'm sorry I'm a horrible person haha. But yay! Ellara likes Spock! And Uhura and Jim are huge meddlers! Because why not! I'm honestly extremely excited now, because I get to finally start writing the romance. Aw yis! A huge thanks btw to my beta reader, TransformersGeek, because tbh I couldn't do it without her. Also, if any of you guys would like to see pictures of Ellara and Lywa, I drew them and posted them on my Instagram art page, /artgirl00123 , without the /, of course. Unless, of course, you have your own headcanons of what they look like and would rather not. Haha, but if you would, you can find them there.**

 **booklover1898: That's great to hear!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated November 30th, 2016.**


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

 _Oh my god he's looking at me again,_ thought Ellara, her face gaining a lilac colour. She was currently sitting with Spock playing 3d chess, and he had glanced up while waiting for Ellara to make her next move. She'd been on edge around the Vulcan male since her revelation the previous week.

 _Ellara glanced down in worry, wondering why she felt like there was a vice-like grip on her heart. Was this… concern? For the life of the ship's First Officer? That's what it seemed to be. But it made no sense- they were barely friends. Well, she enjoyed his company, and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about, and sometimes when the light shone on him just right, she could see his long, brown eyelash- Oh my god I like him._

It was a weird feeling, being attracted to someone, but it wasn't unpleasant. She felt like just seeing him was the highlight of her day. It was also ridiculously stressful. Ellara felt as though there was a flashing neon sign hovering above her at all times, saying, "I LIKE COMMANDER SPOCK!". In fact, if she thought about it too much, Ellara became paranoid that she would say it out loud, or that Spock would somehow be able to read her mind and know exactly what she was feeling. "Are you well, Counsellor?" asked Spock, tilting his head to the side. "You have not moved for approximately three minutes and twenty-five seconds."

Ellara blinked herself out of her stupor and realized that he was correct. "Sorry. Ummm… yeah, I'm fine. I just got lost in thought." she chuckled nervously to try and show that she was alright.

Spock, although clearly unconvinced, accepted her words and looked back down at the board. Ellara followed his moves and did so as well, moving one of her pieces half-heartedly. After a few moments of thought, Spock moved his own, knocking the piece Ellara had just placed away. Her mouth opening and closing like a fish, Ellara debated saying what she had intended. Finally, the words forced themselves out. "So, uh, how was your day?" she asked.

Looking up, Spock wondered if Ellara had contracted an illness of some sort. Her face was flushed and she was acting particularly strange around him. "My day was adequate, Counsellor." Pausing for a moment, Spock considered his next words. "How was yours?"

Ellara's eyes widened, having not expected him to ask her in return, so she simply smiled, nodded, and said "Good, good."

"Hey, Spock! Ellara!" came the enthusiastic voice of their Captain.

Ellara practically sighed with relief, mentally slapping herself for being so weird. Could she never do anything right? "What are you guys up to?" asked Kirk with a wide grin on his face. He placed a hand on Ellara's shoulder, leaning over to look at the board. With very little thought, he took one of her pieces and moved it, looking at Spock and saying "Checkmate."

Ellara studied the surface in front of her and realized that he was right- Spock could not move without his King being overtaken. "Heh, thanks, Jim." she said, looking up at the man behind her. "I wouldn't have seen that."

The Captain raised his hands up. "Please, I'm happy to help. Say, do you guys wanna join me and Uhura for some Go Fish?"

Ellara stared at him quizzically, not really sure what he meant.

Sulu, who had been reading beside them, glanced up quickly and erupted into laughter. "What's so funny?" demanded Ellara as her brows furrowed.

"You and Spock had exactly the same expression." he replied, slowly calming down.

Ellara looked at Spock, feigning confusion. To be fair, she had noticed that the two occasionally had similar facial expressions when it came to their beloved Captain. She hadn't realized that others saw that as well, however. Interesting.

"What's… go fish?" She tested the name on her tongue, not sure whether she remembered it right.

"It's a card game." replied Jim, crossing his arms and leaning back.

A groan erupted from the back of Ellara's throat. "Really, Jim? If it's anything like poker, I don't think I'm interested." She grumbled out her next remark, "I lost 500 credits."

From the corner of her eye, Ellara could see Spock's lip turn up slightly. "Don't worry, no money is involved."

Ellara weighed the pro's and cons. On the one hand, she would have tons of fun with her friends, and she'd be able to learn something new. On the other, she was already feeling embarrassed and awkward from her chess game with Spock.

"I would not be against participating, however I would appreciate it if you could explain the rules of this game to both Counsellor Lat'toy and I." chimed in Spock.

Ellara gulped and looked up, meeting Spock's eyes. If she had to put one emotion to him at that moment, she would say that he was genuinely excited. "Uhhh… yeah." she added, finally tearing her gaze away and looking at the Captain.

"Ok, I'll do that, Spock, but only if you stop calling El 'Counsellor Lat'toy' when we're off duty." replied Jim.

Spock considered it for a moment, before agreeing. Jim's grin reappeared, and he clapped his hands. "Great! Uhura should be here soon. She's just finishing up some work."

He directed the group to a round table nearby, pulling out a deck of cards. Jim began shuffling them quickly, performing fantastic moves and capturing Ellara's attention.

"Hi, sorry I'm late." said Uhura from behind Ellara.

She walked around the table and kissed Jim on the cheek before sitting down. "So, I see you managed to convince them to join." Nyota looked over at her man, a mischievous glint in her eye. "We should play as groups," she added, "Jim and I will be one, and you two can help each other out."

It took Ellara about half a minute to piece together the puzzle, and once she did, she shot a small glare at the smiling couple. "You jerks" she mouthed. They'd planned this all along, hadn't they?

Spock, however, did not sense Uhura's underlying message, and instead nodded, before asking what the game was about. While Kirk explained, Ellara gestured to Nyota to follow her to the corner of the room. "How long have you two been up to this?" she whispered, practically hissing.

"For a couple of months now. It seemed like a good idea, and now that we're at this point, I can't imagine you two with anyone else." replied Uhura, just as silently.

Ellara took a step back, confusion overtaking her face. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly.

"What are _you_ talking about?" answered Nyota. Her entire face appeared to have widened in shock and mild fear.

"I was talking about you trying to make Spock and I friends." was Ellara's harsh- yet still just as silent- reply.

Uhura gulped, but waveringly delivered her answer. "I was talking about the same thing."

Ellara jabbed a finger at her friend's' chest. "Don't lie to me; you were trying to set us up!"

Uhura tilted her head back, seeming exasperated. "Well, what did you expect? You two are almost exactly the same, and you're both so lonely! Jim and I needed to have some fun, and this seemed like the perfect idea! I mean, hey, it's not like we were the only ones that thought it was a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean- Well, the rest of the group made bets on how long it would take you guys to get together."

"WHAT THE HECK?!" cried Ellara in outrage. This was not a whisper- this was a full-blown yell.

The attention of the two men was grabbed, and Spock was quick to ask "What is wrong, Co- Ellara?"

"N-nothing, Spock. Uhura was just… explaining something to me." she replied with some malice. "I don't think I'll be participating in the game tonight."

Ellara stalked off, making sure to grab her book she had left on the couch near Sulu(who received a glare of his own). "Goodnight." growled Ellara.

"I wonder what happened between the Lieutenant and Counsellor to make Ellara so upset." Spock wondered aloud with a tilt of his head.

Jim felt he had an idea, but instead just scoffed and said, "You and me both."

* * *

"LEONARD MCCOY!" shouted a furious Ellara.

The back of the doctor in question became straight as a rod upon hearing the furious roar. He turned around, having gotten a message from the wiz-kid about Ellara's… rampage. "Hey, El." he replied nonchalantly.

"Don't you 'hey El' me." she started. "I have a bone to pick with you."

Bones gulped, genuinely nervous. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Ellara's stripes were glowing. "Listen, I-"

"No, you listen. I would expect this from the others, maybe Scotty, but you? I thought we were better friends then this. To make a stupid bet about how long it would take for me to enter a relationship that had zero grounds, I just- I'm hurt, Len, I really am!" Ellara was pacing at this point, running a hand through her short hair.

Leonard was almost one-hundred percent sure that her stripes were glowing. "El?" he asked quietly.

"I mean, ok, to be fair I'm a little insulted you didn't even include me on it. You never know, I could have wanted this relationship to happen too-"

"El." he said a little more firmly.

"But to just act as though a relationship involving not only a Vulcan but a grieving Rendorian is just-"

"ELLARA!" he yelled this time.

She whirled around to face him. "WHAT?"

"You're on fire." was all Leonard said.

Ellara glanced down, and sure enough, she was on fire. It was a beautiful purple blaze, running up and down. Shockingly enough, she didn't feel a thing, and as panic set in, she calmed down from her anger.

"OH MY GOD I'M ON FIIIIIRRRRRREEEE!" she screamed, running around in a circle.

Leonard smacked a palm to his face, wondering why he was stuck with her as a friend. Once he looked up, however, he saw that the flames were now extinguished. He reached forward and grabbed Ellara's hand. It was cool to the touch.

Ellara snapped out of her fear and realized that everything was alright. "What the- I- whu-" she stuttered, looking around at herself.

After a few moments of silence, a frown etched itself onto her face and she stormed out. "Goddammit woman." muttered McCoy, not even bothering to go after her. She'd get help if she needed it.

In the meantime… Leonard cast a pleased look at the whiskey he had pulled out. Oh yeah.

* * *

 **Bum-bum ba daaaa! Yeah. I'm a horrible person and it's a day late. Sorry. :/ But chapter twenty! And also... Ellara on fire? Ooooh lala we're gonna learn more about that later because I totally didn't just come up with that fact in this chapter. A huuuuuge thank you to my beta reader, TransformersGeek, who does a fantastic job. Also yaaaaaaay confusion! Yeah. I write things. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed!**

 **TransformersGeek: Lol.**

 **booklover1898: SO. MUCH. MEDDLING.**

 **pearl. clark. 129: Same here, tbh.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated December 8th, 2016.**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Pick up, pick up. Come on, pick u-"

"Ellara?" Nalli's staticky voice came through.

"Dad!" shouted Ellara, rolling her chair over to her desk. The reception cleared up, and she could see her father's confused face in front of her.

"What's wrong, you never call me." he asked, turning around to look at something off camera.

Ellara gave him a nervous, mock-hurt look. "How insulting. I do too call you!"

"When have you ever done that, my little fire?" he chuckled back.

Taking a moment to think, Ellara blushed when she realized that he was right. "See? But seriously, don't try to distract me. What's wrong?"

Ellara looked away shyly. She didn't really want to tell him, but he was the only person she could ask. Mostly because she didn't know where anyone else was… "Well, see, earlier today, I was really angry about something my friends had done, and I got so angry that I may or may not have caught fire…" Ellara trailed off near the end, twiddling her thumbs.

Nalli backed away from the camera a bit, biting at his nails. She noticed his eyes kept glancing to the side. "What are you looking at?" asked Ellara cautiously.

There seemed to be a fight being waged in his mind, as he debated telling his daughter or not. Finally, Nalli sighed, before leaning back in. "Listen, Elli, it's been a long time since your mother died…"

Of all the things she had expected, Ellara had not expected the words her father spoke next. "I've had to get along with life, and it gets lonely here. Most children move a few houses down, and you left the planet entirely. So… I got a cat." He reached over and pulled a small black kitten onto his lap.

It mewed quietly at him before settling down. "Oh." was all Ellara said. "To be perfectly honest, I thought that you might have found someone."

Nalli looked thoroughly repulsed at the idea. "No. You're mother was the only one for me. However," he began to softly pet the cat, "she really hated animals, and so I didn't want to get one after she died, for fear of insulting her spirit. But… I just couldn't resist this one!"

Ellara chuckled as the small thing meowed irritably at Nalli before jumping onto the desk and sniffing the camera. "It's alright, dad. I'm sure she would have wanted you to get one years ago, to be honest. She just wanted you to be happy."

Nalli nodded, bowing his head. "Now, back to this problem of yours. I'm going to need a few days to consult with some… people... but I'm sure I can find something about. It sounds familiar."

He stood up with his brows furrowed and began thumbing through the books by the television. Nalli pulled out a dusty tome, opening it up to the index. He began mumbling some words in Ancient Rendorian, and his eyes widened especially large. "Listen, El, I'm gonna have to get back to you, ok? See you in a couple of days."

With that the transmission ended. Ellara sat back, blinking in surprise and confusion. She wasn't surprised that he had a book on what she needed help with; after all, her mother used to teach an Ancient Rendorian class. It covered the language, as well as a handful of prophecies, battles, and famous leaders. Her mother had made sure to teach Nalli once they were married, and Ellara had learned it growing up. It was a good way to speak privately, she found, as not many people spoke it.

However, she had never seen her father look that excited before, except for on his twentieth anniversary. That had been a fun night… What could he have found in that book? Ellara toyed with the idea while she got ready to sleep. This was getting curiouser and curiouser.

* * *

"Ellara! Ellara!" There was a pause. "Ellara Lat'toy, I am about to smash every single candle in this room."

The Rendorian in question shot up and tackled the person beside her bed. Once she had opened her eyes, she found the shocked face of Lieutenant Sulu underneath her. "Oh, hey, Hikaru. Watcha doin'?"

Ellara got up and dusted herself off. She offered a hand to Sulu, who cautiously accepted it. "I'm here to bring you to the bridge. You weren't responding to hails, you weren't answering your comm, and apparently my furious pounding at the door did nothing."

Ellara blushed deeply. "Yeah, sorry, I had a late night."

"Work?" asked Sulu as Ellara went into the bathroom to change.

Making a noise of disagreement and pulling on a clean shirt, she clarified. "Personal thing. It kept swimming around my head."

"Well, I think this might help you forget it." said Sulu grimly.

The two walked to the elevator, a comfortable silence falling between them. That's what Ellara liked about Sulu; he was comfortable carrying on long conversations, but he could just stay silent when need be without it seeming awkward. Of course, she prefered Spock's silence more- Wait what? Ellara really needed to stop daydreaming as she walked, she thought as she found her ass on the floor.

Sulu chuckled a bit, helping his crewmember up. "If you mention that, you'll find that I know how to wield a scalpel ridiculously well." commented Ellara quietly, making sure no one but her friend heard.

Sulu paled, running to catch up with the Rendorian who was walking farther and farther away, her head held high. "Wait what?!"

Ellara turned to look at the man beside her and giggled at his shocked look. "I was kidding."

They got in the elevator as Sulu's face regained copious amounts of colour. His face was now flushed red at having been tricked like that, and he groaned as the doors opened. "Don't do that to a man, El." he said, walking off to his station.

Spock's head shot up as he heard the helmsman and the counsellor walk in. He had very clearly heard the groan followed by a suggestive sentence, and looking at the pair, he only managed to catch Sulu's flushed face before he walked towards the front of the bridge. Spock would not comment on the relationship between the two, however he found it odd; had Lieutenant Sulu not previously mentioned he had a husband? Maybe he should speak to Ellara…

No. **Counsellor Lat'toy** and Lieutenant Sulu could do what they wished; he had no permission or reason to interfere. _But you want her. Is that not reason enough?_ A small voice in his head muttered. He quickly sent it off, not wanting to be bothered by ridiculous notions. Especially ones that were certainly only there due to some comments made by Captains and their girlfriends.

* * *

 _"_ _Hey, Spock, have you ever met an Ensign Seabert?" asked his friend as they walked down a corridor._

 _"_ _I have not, Jim." replied Spock. He was looking over some paperwork when the Captain had walked up to him and began speaking._

 _James chuckled, patting Spock on the shoulder. "Well, I have it on good authority that she has the hots for you."_

 _"_ _I do not understand." he muttered as he wrote down some numbers._

 _"_ _She likes you, Spock!" exclaimed the Captain, stepping in front of the Vulcan and walking backwards to try and get more of his attention._

 _Spock stopped, finally looking up. "I do not understand why this should affect me." he stated, continuing on his way once again._

 _"_ _Don't you wanna start dating again?" asked Jim, falling back beside Spock._

 _"_ _I do not see why it is necessary at this moment." Spock began a rant while Jim looked at a notification on his PADD._

 _"_ _And furthermore, I do not think that it is up to you to determine when I should begin looking for a mate or even to interfere in that process." finished Spock._

 _Jim looked up once again, a large grin spread across his face. "You like someone already, don't you?" he teased, mirth filling his voice._

 _"_ _Jim, did you even listen to a word I said?" Spock said as Jim looked his friend up and down._

 _"_ _I'll bet you it's the Counsellor." he guessed._

 _Spock froze up, wondering if Jim could hear what he was saying- both Spock and himself. Jim, of course, took it as an agreement. "You do, you sly Vulcan!" that earned Spock a slap on the arm. "God, I knew you were putting the moves on her the other day. Come on, I'll help ya get her."_

 _If it wouldn't be so illogical, Spock would've have rolled his eyes at that moment, maybe even put his hand to his forehead. What he didn't know was that the comm that Jim had received was from Uhura, telling her boyfriend to plant an idea in Spock's head. And Jim had done just that. He was going to get Spock to like Ellara, no matter what it took._

* * *

The Enterprise certainly had an interesting Captain, that much was for sure. Spock watched as Ellara walked towards the very Jim Kirk he had just been thinking about, confusion lacing her beautiful features- Spock shook his head slightly, physically trying to remove those thoughts. He would have to meditate afterwards. It was too distracting.

"So, Captain, what would you like?" asked Ellara, placing a hand on her hip.

Jim turned towards the Counsellor and began to chuckle. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "What is it? Is there something on my face?" panicked Ellara.

She turned to find a reflective surface, only to whip her head back when a flash lit up. "You. Didn't." Ellara was furious. There was obviously something wrong with her appearance, and now there was photographic evidence.

He began to back away, holding his hands up as a defence while his chest was shaking with laughter. Quick as a snake, Ellara reached forward and snatched the PADD from him. She quickly opened the camera and found the picture he had taken, and realized that she had forgotten to brush her hair. Ellara sighed and simply combed her fingers through hair, making it look like it was purposefully messed. The blessings of a short cut. "Don't you ever do that again." she growled as she gave the captain his device back.

"I can't promise anything." Jim chuckled.

Ellara shot him a look before composing herself once again. "So, what do you want?"

Jim seemed to remember he'd called her up for a reason, and clapped his hands together before gesturing to the viewport. Ellara looked, and saw the most beautiful planet she'd ever seen. It was a gorgeous fuchsia, with lilac clouds and teal water. She could see various starships flying around, some leaving and some landing. "What… what is this?" she stuttered out, tearing her gaze away.

"This is a new planet. We've been to quite a few now, and you haven't actually visited any. This one seems pretty advanced, so we're going to try and establish contact before landing." said Jim.

Ellara nodded distractedly, beginning to take in the surrounding space. She glanced at the stars and noted the very distinctive pattern. "Hang on!" she ran after Kirk, who had begun to walk towards Spock.

He turned back around, furrowing his brow. "What is it?"

"Those stars- they're familiar. I've seen these constellations before. This is Rendoria Four." she said.

"Wait, what?"

Ellara rolled her eyes at her stupidity, completely forgetting that Starfleet was still mapping out Rendoria's history. "You know how my people are in a giant civil war, right?" she began.

Once she received the nods of the crew members that had turned to listen, she continued. "Well, every once in awhile, one of the four sectors comes across the brilliant idea of just leaving the planet- considering we have a total of ten in our vicinity. They then always end up getting into some kind of trouble, and we have to go help them to the point where the rest of the planet just moves there with them. It's a big fuss that I thankfully haven't lived through. We are currently on our sixth planet. The one out there is Rendoria Four. Like you'd expect, sometimes people don't want to leave, and they remain behind. I guess they've been busy, because it looks fairly colonized."

Jim leaned in to speak with Spock, and the two had a small, hushed discussion. Finally, he turned back to Ellara. "Listen, El, I don't think you should go on this trip, to be honest."

Ellara's mouth gaped wide open in a mixture of shock and frustration. "Oh no, don't you dare do that. You invite me up here, telling me that I'm to help you establish contact, and then you tell me I can't just because I'm related to them? If anything-"

"Come on, don't be like-"

"I'm not finished!" she shouted. "As I was saying, if anything, you should be letting me do this for several different reasons." Ellara had begun pacing as she listed things off on her hand. "First of all, I'm the only person on this ship fluent in Rendorian- no offence Uhura-, so even though the language has most likely changed, it should still be pretty much the same. Second, I know the most about Rendorian culture, so I know how this'll go. And lastly, Rendoria Four is still property of the Rendorian People, and I highly doubt my government knows about this."

She walked over to the viewport and pointed at the planet down below. "It looks like they've turned it into some sort of trade planet, or a mining one, what with the amount of small ships flying around. I'm going, and there's nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise."

Jim looked around at his officers for support, mouth flapping like a fish as he tried to come up with a compelling argument. "You make a very good case, Counsellor, however there is one flaw in your plan." said Commander Spock.

Ellara merely cocked a hip and raised an eyebrow in response.

"These people will not respond well to your appearance. The probability of a violent and or resentful response is very high. Your people left them with very little and did not offer any more aid. You most likely will be injured."

The Rendorian looked down, shamed. She hadn't thought of that. Ellara just wanted to visit the planet. "In all actuality, your government is most likely aware of their existence, yet would not want to start a war."

Ellara gave a small nod of her head to acknowledge that she understood. She felt like a child that had just been scolded, and it hurt. Especially considering it came from Spock of all people. "I'll just… uh… go." she muttered, fast walking to the elevator. Once inside, she sniffled and rubbed at her eye.

Back on the bridge, Jim rounded on his first officer. "Jeez, Spock, was that necessary?" he demanded.

"I do not understand, Captain. I simply informed Counsellor Lat'toy of why she should not join the away mission. Was that not what you wanted?" Spock was confused.

"You could have been nicer when you said." chimed in Uhura.

"Ya basically ripped her a new one." Kirk jumped in.

"I did not realize that kindness was needed to get a point across. If I had not been as harsh as I had, it would be likely that Counsellor Lat'toy would have either not understood or become more aggressive." Spock fired back.

When Spock turned his back, Jim threw his hands up in the air in frustration before shaking his head and going back to the Captain's chair. Getting those two to be together was proving to be one of the most challenging things Kirk had ever done.

* * *

 **Chapter... twenty? No...twenty one... OMG TWENTY ONE CHAPTERS! I'd also like to say that I managed to make this document 2.6k words long sans author's notes(almost 3k with) and I'm ridiculously proud of it because most have been a little under or a little over. I also got this one up on time! Yay! So. Nalli got a kitty, El has a problem, she also is fiercely protective of her candles, Spock is starting to get jealous, and Rendorians are known for moving planets. Which to be fair is a ridiculous notion, however I had written out that idea before I'd even started the story, and it worked right into the plot! Next chapter may or may not have your heart racing(doubtful) as the away team visits Rendoria IV! Gosh I'm so excited! A major thanks to TransformersGeek for editing this chapter, I legit miss soooo much it's ridiculous. Till next week!**

 **booklover1898: That scene was really improvised, but it was a lot of fun to write. :) I'm glad to know it was appreciated!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated December 16th, 2016.**


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Cap'ain, I'm afraid that the transpor'er isn't working. You're gonna have to take a shuttle." Scotty grumbled out as fiddled with the control panel in front of him.

Jim, Spock and various security officers were in the entrance to the transporter room, disappointed at this new development. Ellara was in the back, explaining various parts of Rendorian culture very rapidly to Uhura. The Lieutenant still hadn't finished learning everything she could from the Counsellor, and normally Ellara would have preferred to take this slowly, however what with being denied a spot on the trip, it would have to do.

"So, remember. If you're meeting an elder- trust me, you'll know who they are-, bow down and wait for them to tell you 'Tricloch'. It means rise. They should have someone to translate for you, English was taught from Rendoria three and onwards." Uhura nodded diligently to all the information being told to her.

Ellara placed her hands on Uhura's arms, squeezing them and furrowing her brow. "Listen, if someone asks you to fight, you have the right to deny them. You have diplomatic immunity. Remember that."

"I'll be fine, El. I'll contact you if I need anything." Uhura comforted her friend.

As the group began walking towards the shuttle bay, Ellara staying in the transporter room, she called out to Uhura, "Make sure you do!"

Ellara sighed in worry, turning around in a semi-circle to find something to do. "You doing good there, Scotty?" she asked the Scotsman.

"I'm a'right, lassie. You should go back to the bridge. They'll need ya there." he said with his nose buried in mechanics.

Nodding, Ellara turned to walk off, but was called back by the engineer. "'Ang on, could ya pass me that wrench over there before ya leave? No, the one right beside it. Yeah, that's that one, thanks."

As Ellara handed him the tool, she chuckled at his indecisiveness at letting her leave. She finally got away and made her way to the bridge. There was a seat set up for her beside acting Captain Sulu, and the two had a quiet discussion about the current mission.

After the discussion had died out, Ellara allowed herself to zone out and look at the planet down below. If she looked closer, she could start to recognize areas she'd seen in history books. That fuschia blotch over there was where her people had lived, that one almost completely covered by clouds was…

Ellara jolted to the side, red lights flashing as the ship was hit. Her eyes widened as she realized that the ship was now under attack. She could see some old Rendorian warbirds flying around near the bridge, shooting at the Enterprise. Ellara quickly ran back to her seat, sitting down. She pulled up a page on her PADD that kept an updated version of everyone checked into the medbay. If anyone was injured, she'd head down right away if Doctor McCoy didn't have time to contact her.

She could faintly hear Sulu shouting commands to the members of the bridge, and was disappointed when any attempt at communication failed. "El." he said in between delivering orders. "I'll call you if we need you. You should go down to the medbay- this could get ugly."

The Rendorian nodded before bolting out of her seat and heading towards the elevator. She was joined by two other bridge officers who were writing things down at a rapid pace. It was like there was a deep thumping bass going through the ship, keeping everyone on beat and moving quickly. Thinking about it, Ellara figured she might bring it up to the Captain when they got back. It could help keep the officers focused.

Ellara approached a turn in the hallway she was jogging down, but was quickly met by a pile of debris. In her rush to think of an alternate route, she didn't hear the growing noise, and only looked up at the last second to see a large piece of structure falling down. Ellara tried to jump back, but misjudged her step and ended up getting hit in the shoulder. She collapsed immediately.

* * *

"I don't know what happened, Bones. They just pounced." whined Jim as he attempted to dodge the Chief Medical Officer's attempt to at jamming a needle in his neck.

"I believe I know what went wrong, Captain." commented Spock, walking in. "According to Lieutenant Uhura, they were threatened by our attempt at contact and your ignorance in their customs. She explained on the shuttle that you should bow to the elders, however you neglected to do so."

Jim groaned, shooting a glare at his first officer. "No need to chew me out, Spock. I get it; I messed up." He looked around, growing confused. "Hey, where is our favourite Rendorian, anyways?"

Sulu, who had been standing beside him, glanced through the room to confirm what the Captain said. "Doctor McCoy, did you dismiss her?" he asked.

Bones turned around from his table of tools, brows furrowed and irritation lacing his expression. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen El since yesterday."

Sulu's eyes widened in surprise. "I sent her down here to help out."

McCoy mirrored the helmsman's expression, understanding what that meant. "Ship, where is Counsellor Lat'toy?" asked Jim once he caught on.

"Counsellor Lat'toy is outside room 215A." replied the mechanical voice.

Sulu and Spock both nodded at each other and sprinted out of the room in the direction of said room. It didn't take long for them to find the area, however there was no Rendorian in sight. All that was there was a large pile of rubble. "Ellara!" called Sulu, worried.

There was no response. "Counsellor Lat'toy." tried Spock.

This time, they heard a faint grown, followed by a few pieces of rubble shifting. "Shit." mumbled Hikaru as he approached the giant pile. "Spock, help me move some of this."

Together, the two men managed to move the debris in a couple minutes. The sight was not pretty; Ellara was lying on her stomach, purple blood surround her, the puddle originating from a dark stain on her shoulder. "Damnit." muttered Sulu.

Spock wasted no time in picking up the Counsellor who was quickly beginning to regain consciousness. He began to run back to the med bay, trying his hardest not to jostle the woman in his arms. "Doctor McCoy." he called out once he reached the room.

The good man turned around and gestured towards a nearby cot. Spock gently placed her down on the bed, looking down at Ellara as her eyes slowly opened. "Spock?" she whispered out hoarsely. "Yes, Counsellor?"

She smirked. "Thanks."

Ellara reached over to try and hold Spock's sleeve for comfort, but fell unconscious during the process and instead grabbed onto his wrist.

"Jesus, this is a lot of blood, NURSE!" called the doctor, looking around for a free medical officer to help him out. "I need you to just-"

His words faded into the background as Spock focused on the hand that was growing steadily colder holding him. If he looked closely, he could see a raised area where her stripe met the rest of her skin. Spock wondered if she could feel anything on the thick scars adorning her body. Maybe he could just…

Spock was jolted back to reality as Doctor McCoy shoved him to the side in an attempt to get better access to Ellara's shoulder. Was he just about to… stroke… Counsellor Lat'toy's hand?

"Damnit man, either make yourself useful or go somewhere else. This is an emergency!" Bones barked at the Vulcan, tired of him acting stiff as a board.

Spock nodded his head and walked over to the Captain, who was staring intently at the cot Spock had just come from. "I saw that." was all he said.

"I am afraid I do not understand, Jim." replied Spock coolly.

Jim looked over at his longtime friend, a smirk painted on his face. "You were about to hold El's hand, weren't you?"

Spock simply looked down in shame. He was so confused. What was he feeling? It was like concern, only more intense. Spock knew that the Counsellor would be well, and so why was he worried? No, worry was still too calm. Spock could almost feel a tug at his heartstrings, wanting him to stay by her side and make sure that she would be safe. "Spock." interrupted Kirk. "She's gonna be ok. Stop worrying about it and go tell Uhura what happened. Captain's orders"

Nodding his head, Spock carried out his friend's words and found Lieutenant Uhura in the waiting room. She had not seen Ellara being carried in, and so it was up to Spock to explain the situation. "Nyota." he called, catching the attention of the pacing woman.

"Spock." was all she said, worrying her lower lip.

"Counsellor Lat'toy has been brought into the medbay." Uhura's hands shot up to her mouth as a gasp of shock escaped her. "A piece of debris fell onto her shoulder. She is now being cared for by Doctor McCoy."

Uhura, who was no doubt devastated by this news, frowned in confusion at the look on Spock's face. If anything, she'd say he looked pained. "Spock, what's wrong?"

"I… Nyota, what I feel for Ellara at this moment cannot be defined as worry or concern. It is more then that. I am… confused." explained Spock, lowering his head.

Uhura chuckled, approaching her friend. "You're scared for her. It's completely normal; after all, she's your friend."

Spock shook his head, knowing that that was not what it was. "No. I felt scared for Jim when he got shot. What I feel for Ellara is more along the lines of what I felt when Jim died, except different." he explained.

Uhura seemed… satisfied? With Spock's answer. "Do you think that maybe you like her as more than a friend?" she asked.

Spock was taken aback at that statement. He had not considered that. If he thought on it, it made sense. Whenever he played chess with her, conversation flowed easily, and any lingering silence was always comfortable. Spock realized that he actually sometimes sought her out when he was feeling lonely, or even just to speak with her. And this worry… it was beyond a proper description. It made sense that his affection for the Counsellor had grown to be more than just friendly.

Uhura smiled, knowing that Spock had finally realized what he felt. "I'm gonna go see Jim." she said, walking backwards towards the med bay.

Spock quickly took a seat, various thoughts running through his head. From his spot, he could just barely see Ellara's head. McCoy had finished patching her up and she was just sleeping peacefully, an iv hooked into her arm. She looked like an angel lying there, that was for sure. Spock shook his head rapidly, confused at these emotions. How did this happen? What would he do? Did Ellara feel the same way about him? _Could_ she? All these questions plagued Spock, and it would take him some time to sort through them.

* * *

"So?"

"He definitely likes her, that much is for sure." said Uhura, sitting down next to Jim.

"Thank god. We didn't do all that for nothing. So they both like each other now?"

Uhura nodded, smiling softly. "Now we just have to get them to admit it."

Jim blanched, leaning back with a groan. "That's it, game over. It'll never happen."

Chuckling, Uhura's smile turned into a grin. "Have some faith, Jim. I have a plan."

* * *

 **Ooh la la! Spock has feeeeeeelings. Idk if I rushed it, but this just feels right haha. So many people are wounded in this chapter! We also get a very distracted El. This chapter isn't as long as the last one, but it's about 60 words short to my goal haha. Not much to say, really. I hope you guys enjoyed! Also, big thanks to TransformersGeek, without whom there'd be so many mistakes haha lol.**

 **booklover1898: Yeah, Spock can be a bit insensitive when he doesn't think.**

 **Guest: Thanks a lot, I appreciate that. :)**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: And I like you!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated December 23rd, 2016.**


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

Ellara was on edge Saturday morning. Uhura and Jim had been sneaky all week, casting sly glances towards each other and giving cryptic replies whenever El asked what was up. She had a feeling she knew what the two had been up to, but Ellara wouldn't assume. Her dad never gave her much advice, but when he did, it was always good. For example, don't assume. Ever.

Saturdays were always a special occasion for their table, thought Kirk. After all, it was one of the only days where all of the senior staff would eat their meals together, and they'd had numerous food fights, usually started by Chekov or Kirk himself, ending with boisterous laughter. Today, however, was a special occasion. His wonderful girlfriend, Nyota, had a plan to get his First Officer and the ships lovely Counsellor in a relationship. The two were like a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, stubborn minds and cold fronts wouldn't allow them to see it… "Hey, Ellie." called Kirk, waving to the Rendorian he had been thinking of.

Ellara held up a finger to him, deep in conversation with Spock, her hands waving wildly with excitement. Jim wasn't sure what they were discussing, but he had a feeling it wasn't anything that'd interest him. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to look at Nyota, a grin spreading across his face. "Is your plan ready?" he asked.

Nyota nodded. "Now remember, you just have to keep Spock distracted in the lunch line, and make sure he can't hear what El and I are talking about. He could probably actually hear a pin drop in this room."

Jim nodded to show he knew what he had to do, and got up to walk with Spock to get food. Meanwhile, Uhura practically dragged Ellara to the other side of the room.

"Jeez, Nyota, what's wrong?" exclaimed Ellara.

She'd begun to accept it when Jim and Nyota dragged her away to talk about lord knows what, but she hadn't expected to be accosted almost as soon as she walked into a room. "Spock likes you." was all Uhura said, a knowing smile on her face.

El blinked a couple of times in shock, completely overwhelmed. "Uh… um... Buh… wha… What?" she stammered out, tilting her head to the side.

* * *

"Jim, why are you dancing?" asked Spock, quirking a brow.

"Because, Spock", the Captain puffed out, "I came up with this routine to show Uhura" puff "for a romantic evening" huff "and I wanted to know if you thought it was ok!" Jim finished with a flourish, jazz hands and all.

Spock stood perfectly still for a moment, taking in the information given to him. "I believe that you may have to rethink a majority of those moves if your intention is to impress Lieutenant Uhura, Jim." was all he said.

Kirk shook his head. "C'mon, Spock. No need to be so harsh."

"I am not being harsh, I am just stating what I feel to be true. It was also an illogical idea to come to me for advice. A better choice would be Ellara, seeing as she learned ballet as a child."

Jim's head shot up, surprised. "Ellie knows ballet?" he exclaimed slightly too loudly.

Sulu, who had been standing in front of them, turned around to look at the two men. "No wonder she's so graceful when she fights." he offered a piece of information.

* * *

"No way, don't lie to me, Nyota." denied Ellara.

Her friend simply shrugged, as though there was no truth more obvious than that. Ellara thought for a moment before saying, "How do you know, then?"

Nyota chuckled. "He practically freaked out when he brought you into the med bay. He was so worried about your health, it was so adorable! And, when I asked him about it, he couldn't even answer."

Ellara began stuttering once again. "H-how do you know that he just doesn't think of me as a friend? You could be reading him wrong." It was a long shot, considering the history between the two.

Uhura apparently thought of this, too, as she gave her a look that just said 'Really?'

Ellara looked down in embarrassment. "You think he really does like me?" she murmured.

Nyota nodded, "Definitely. What are you going to do about it?"

Thinking, Ellara looked over to where Jim was… dancing? Dancing… in front of Spock. The half-Vulcan looked up quickly and caught Ellara's eye. The two had a mini stare off, before Spock's attention was grabbed by the finale of the Captain. El turned back to Nyota, a grin spreading across her face. "I'm gonna tell him." was all she said before stalking off.

Nyota's flourishing smile was quickly wiped off her face as she realized what exactly that meant. "Wait, El, no!" she called, but it was too late.

Ellara was already halfway across the cafeteria, watching as Sulu, Jim and Spock spoke.

"Do you think she can do a grand jete?" asked Kirk as she approached.

"I can, but I won't be showing you now." Ellara spoke up behind him.

Jim jumped in surprise, not having heard the Rendorian walk up. "El, what're you doing here?" he asked nervously.

"I came to speak with Spock, if that's alright." she said confidently.

Jim shook his head quickly. "We're kinda in the middle of some-"

Sulu, who had been informed of the situation after overhearing Kirk and Uhura talk about, understood immediately what was going on and grabbed hold of his Captain. "Actually, I think Bones needs to stick a couple more needles in you, Jim." was all he said.

Spock stared at the retreating forms of his two friends, wondering what that was all about. Slowly, he looked down at the woman standing in front of him. Now that the two men were gone, a blush had sprung up on her cheeks, and she seemed much more nervous than before. Spock could not help but wonder if she was alright, if she was overheating or if perhaps she needed medical attention. Or what if she was like this because of something he had done? Had he insulted her in some way? Spock hoped to god he had not, because that would be absolutely horrible.

"Spock, I, uh, I have something to tell you." spoke Ellara quietly. Are you kidding me? She's left alone and she suddenly turns into a blushing schoolgirl? Dear god.

Spock swallowed, fearful for what she had to say. _Please let it not be bad, please let it not be bad,_ was the mantra playing in his head. "I may or may not have some… romantic feelings for you." was all she said.

The blush on her face increased tenfold, and ran down to her neck, showing how embarrassed she really was.

He was taken aback. Both of his eyebrows shot up in surprise, not having expected that. Spock was completely silent as his stomach performed flips and his heart was pumping and his mind was yelling at him to say something. He had not felt like this for Uhura, that had been different. He had grown to feel affection for her during their relationship, whereas with Ellara… he could not deny that during these past few weeks, he had imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship with the Rendorian.

Ellara, who still couldn't read Spock's facial expressions that well (she was learning, though), mistook his pleasure for horror and was immediately downcast. "But, of course, I mean, that, uh…" she trailed off.

Spock immediately realized that he had left her standing for far too long, and that she now assumed he was disgusted. "I also have romantic feelings for you, Ellara." he finally shot out, less stiffer than he usually would. His composure was broken, but it was alright.

Their eyes met once again, and Ellara remembered something Nyota had told her a while ago. "It's in his eyes; that's where most of his expression shows."

And boy was that true now. He seemed a mixture of relieved, surprised, and ecstatic. Ellara giggled, happy to know he felt the same. The corners of Spock's lips turned up in a semblance of a smile, and a slight green tinge covered his cheeks and ears. The perfect example of a gentleman, he grabbed a tray for Ellara, and she joined him in line. The two started up their conversation from earlier, their expressions going back to normal.

* * *

From a distance, Jim and Nyota watched the situation unfold. "How the hell…" he couldn't even finish the sentence, he was so done with everything.

Uhura shook her head, kind of wishing she had some popcorn. "I don't know. I swear, only those two could admit their feelings to each other in the most clinical of ways."

"I also have romantic feelings for you." imitated Sulu, chuckling slightly. "That's them, though."

"Wait, so ya just told her that Spock liked her, and she marched over there like a woman in battle?" butted in Bones.

He had been filled in on what was going on, and was completely taken aback that the hobgoblin could even feel, much less for anyone as great as his little Ellie.

Uhura nodded, confirming what he'd said, and watched as Spock gave Ellara a tray. The two then continued their conversation they'd been having before they walked in, and the mouths of everyone at the table dropped open. "Bu-but they. They're not even embarrassed of each other now! They just went back to their bloody conversation. How do they do that?" cried Scotty in outrage.

No one at the table could understand how the two were acting completely nonchalant. However, they'd all forgotten that the two people in question weren't all human. Dating customs were different, and for Spock, Ellara knew that it was a more private matter. They'd spoken and agreed to discuss it more in private that evening.

"So you think that the chemical properties of the plants you found on Rendoria Four could be helpful in lessening the chances of anxiety while the baby is in the womb?" reiterated Ellara, slightly excited at what Spock was telling her.

He nodded, glad to know she understood. "That is correct. Unfortunately, we were not able to garner a larger sample, seeing as Jim neglected to follow the protocol Nyota told him."

Ellara smiled wide. "But that's still amazing! If I could contact the current Rendoria, I could tell them about how Rendoria Four is still flourishing, and maybe the other planets are as well, and we could become a smaller colony. And if peace settles, we might even be able to get a hold of a larger supply of that plant to use. This would be great!"

The two placed their trays on the table, taking a seat. "What's so great?" asked Jim almost as soon as they touched the chairs.

"Spock found a plant on Rendoria Four that could help with preventing the chances of anxiety, and could be administered to fetus'." she said calmly, taking a bite of the egg in front of her. "Could you pass the pepper?" she asked Chekov, her nose scrunching up in distaste.

He did so, and Jim turned away from his friend in displeasure, thinking it was something more interesting.

Nyota smiled at Ellara and Spock, pleased to know that things were going so well. They were honestly made for each other, and being able to see a relationship flourish.. It was quite satisfying, to say the least.

* * *

"So, how was your day?" asked Ellara the evening, moving her pawn.

"Slightly underwhelming, however a productive one nonetheless." commented Spock, moving his rook.

"Checkmate." Ellara said after a few more moves.

Spock reset the board, and the two looked up at each other. "How do you think we should go about establishing a relationship?" he asked.

Ellara thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure, to be honest. On Rendoria, we're engaged before birth, and then we spend every moment together until the youngest turns twenty, when we get married. The affection is practically forced on us." she replied.

"It is both similar and not with Vulcans. Mates are chosen for us by our parents at the age of seven, and we… bond, in a way, and are married once we reach maturity." Spock gave information on what his planet was like.

"Maybe we should just… continue to act as friends, but with some romance thrown in?" Ellara shrugged, not really sure.

"I do not understand what you mean."

"Well, we could continue doing what we do now, except we occasionally go on dates, and we do things that couples tend to do. Like…" Ellara trailed off, not exactly knowing what typical Rendorian couples did, and definitely not knowing what Vulcan's did.

"We could simply figure out as we go along." stated Spock, saving Ellara from feeling embarrassed with her lack of knowledge on the subject.

She nodded vigorously, glad to know he was on the same page. "I suppose in human terms, we are now… dating." he said.

Ellara nodded cautiously, agreeing with him. "I guess so."

After a few beats of silence, Ellara commented once again. "Something feels off."

"I agree."

"Do you think we should ask Jim and Nyota for advice?" she asked. "After all, this is sort of their fault."

"I believe we should."

"Great. I'll tackle Nyota and you can get Jim." At Spock's expression, she elaborated. "I don't actually mean fight, I just mean get information out of."

He nodded, and was about to get up, before she chimed in once more. "Tomorrow. I wanna finish my game with you."

Spock recomposed himself, and the two settled in for a long night.

* * *

 **Omg it happened so fast. I have to say, my least favourite trope is miscommunication, and it wouldn't make sense for if Spock or Ellara kept it in. Ellara knows what kind of trouble that can cause, and Spock is 100% honest and would probably believe Kirk if he had said Ellara liked him. Just as an fyi. I also had to google Vulcan mating rituals for this, because I have 0 knowledge haha. I hope you enjoyed, I'm already a quarter done writing the next chapter(I got excited), and until next week!**

 **pearl. clark. 129: Yes, yes it is.**

 **booklover1898: Thanks! And here it is. :)**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: I appreciate it.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated December 30th, 2016.**


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Wait, are you guys even dating?" asked Uhura while she painted her big toe a lovely turquoise.

Ellara shrugged, adding some black to her thumbs tip. "Sort of. It's kind of confusing. We're sort of like friends with romantic benefits. We haven't kissed, however we've had romantic meals together, alone."

Uhura stared at her friend as though she had a third head, which they had encountered before, so it wasn't that far fetched. "But, what about the good stuff? Holding hands, hugging, cuddling, movie nights, all of that?"

Ellie shrugged, blowing on her nails. "It's not us. We weren't raised like that. I don't know what he did specifically, but Lywa and I were best friends, and we only hugged when friends would. It's law on Rendoria."

Scoffing, Nyota pulled out a deep green for her finger nails. "I don't want to be insulting, but that sounds really weird."

"I have to admit, I am kind of hurt. To me, the fact that you spend years looking for someone is crazy. If you just grew up with someone, you'd come to love them. The ancestors would guide you." spoke out Ellara.

And it was true; she found Terran mating customs strange. Ellara wouldn't have brought it up if Nyota hadn't have made the comment she did, but it was now an argument in the honour of her species. Nyota chuckled, not believing her. Ellara frowned in frustration. "I'm serious!" she exclaimed. "I spent sixteen years of my life no more than one room away from my mate. My village leader had consulted the Priests, who spoke to our ancestors and learned that she was the one most suited for me. You start off resenting it, but then one day, you wake up and realize that you love her. That she's the most perfect woman you've ever seen, and there's no one better. And you come to appreciate every second you have together, sometimes not sleeping just to be with her. Terran dating is crazy to me, because according to my studies, you typically spend a year dating them, only seeing each other a few times a week, and then you spend a year in the same apartment, and it's a gamble. You either get married or it ends in frustration. So don't laugh at me for what I believe in, not when I hold my laughs about what you do."

Her spiel over, Ellara stood up, grabbing her things furiously, and stalked out of Nyota's room. She grumbled as she began walking, not really noticing where she was going. It took a few moments before she realized that she had arrived in front of Spock's' room, her hand poised to knock on the door. Taking a breath, Ellara followed through with the move she was ready to perform.

Various seconds later, the door opened to reveal Spock, who had a pen in his hand. "Ellara." he said.

"Spock." she replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Do you think I could come in?"

Spock moved to the side, allowing the Rendorian inside. Once there, she began pacing back and forth, clearly upset.

"What is wrong?" he asked, taking a seat at his desk.

Ellara groaned, glancing at him. "It's Uhura." she began. "She…" one more breath. "She doesn't seem to be able to accept how I was raised."

The pacing had increased in speed. "I tried to explain it to her, but she just laughed at me! Sometimes I don't feel accepted, even here." she huffed out, looking downcast.

"I do not believe anyone else is more accepted on this ship, Ellara. I have never heard anyone say anything negative against you. It is safe to assume that Nyota simply did not realize what she was saying was hurting you." commented Spock, his head moving back and forth to follow Ellara.

She calmed down, not having thought of that. "Oh."

"Perhaps you should confront her and explain why her words hurt you." he suggested.

Ellara nodded quietly, and moved to leave before stopping. She turned back around and hugged Spock around his middle, taking care not to touch his skin. "Thanks, Spock."

The Vulcan was sitting stock still, not having expected the action. Ellara left, blush tainting her cheeks.

* * *

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, that wasn't what I was trying to do." murmured Uhura, glancing at her feet in shame.

"I know that. I just hope you could maybe avoid doing that during future conversations." replied Ellara sweetly. "Ow…" she muttered.

"Hold still. I can't get the eyeliner on properly if you keep fidgeting." ordered Uhura.

The two had made up, and Nyota was now putting the finishing touches on Ellara's makeup. Their little spat from the night prior was nothing more than a memory, and Nyota had decided to repay her friend by dressing her up for her date. Ellara groaned, "Maybe if you didn't jab it in my eye, I wouldn't have to move."

Uhura sighed as she moved back, popping a hip. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because I'm done." She spun her friend around, putting her face to face with the bathroom mirror.

Ellara leaned in close, impressed at what she had done. Her lips were a darker red, her eyes a smoked out black, and her cheekbones had a nice shine. "I didn't know that this was something that could actually be done." she commented.

"It takes practice. But, I can't do your hair for you. I've never had to operate on anything so… short." Uhura glanced warily at the mop of hair on Ellara's head.

El shrugged, reaching up and slicking her hair back with the gel she had sneakily applied to her fingertips. Looking in the mirror once more, however, she realized that she looked the same as usual, only with a made up face. Nyota noticed this as well, and shook her hands through Ellara's hair. This made it more messy, and seemed to do the trick.

"Now, come on. We need to choose an outfit."

Ellara frowned as she was dragged to her closet. "Outfit? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Nyota raised her upper lip at Ellara's clothing with a slight grimace. The plain off-white blouse and the light green pants didn't exactly scream 'date night'. Not to mention, they clashed horribly with the makeup on her face.

Reaching in, she let out an 'a-ha!' as she found what she was looking for. Nyota emerged holding a gorgeous black strapless cocktail dress. "Uh…" stuttered Ellara, looking from the seemingly offensive piece of clothing to Nyota and back again.

"What?" demanded Uhura.

"It's just, I wore that dress on one of my dates with Lywa a while back. It was the first time we…" she looked to the side, blushing.

"Oh."

"I was going to save it for another time. Plus, this is a more casual date."

Nyota nodded awkwardly and reached back in. "Any preferences?" she called out.

"Something light and fun, and more everyday."

Uhura emerged once more holding a sheer pink blouse and a pair of blue jeans. In her other hand, she held some strappy silver heels. "How about this?"

Ellara nodded rapidly. She was pleased with this new choice. As she got changed, Uhura continued searching through the closet out of boredom. "You know, one of these days, you and Spock need to go on a more fancy date."

Chuckling, Ellara sat down to put on her heels, remembering what happened the last time. She swore she still had a bruise on her hip. "Yeah, well, we're waiting."

"You two seem to do a lot of wait-" she words died on Nyota's lips as she saw her friend exit the bathroom. "You. Look. Amazing." was all she said.

Ellara smiled, about to say something, before she saw the time. "Shit, I gotta go!" she began rushing out of her room, closing the lights as she went. "Thanks for the help, see ya later!"

Nyota simply shook her head in the direction of the retreating Rendorian. "I swear, she's gonna trip and fall one day with how she runs in those things."

* * *

"Did you have an adequate date?" asked Spock, his hands behind his back as he walked Ellara back to her room.

She nodded, a small smile gracing her lips as she glanced up at the Vulcan beside her. Way, way up. "I did, thank you. I especially enjoyed the part where you tripped getting up."

Spocks cheeks were dusted with a light green tinge of embarrassment as he remembered that particular moment. "I did not personally enjoy that moment, however I can see where you would find that humorous."

Almost as if to mock her, Ellara's heel slipped, and she tumbled down. Spock reacted quickly and caught her before she hit her head, his head mere centimetres away from her own. "Thank you." she breathed out, her eyes searching his.

The two were stunned for silence, until Spock regained his composure and righted Ellara. "It was no problem."

Ellara cleared her throat, looking awkwardly to the side. "We have arrived." commented Spock, stopping in front of her door.

"So we have." replied Ellara awkwardly.

The two stood one in front of the other, staring at each other in stony silence. The calm wasn't comfortable for the first time in a while, and Ellara wondered what could be done to fix that. She didn't have to wait long, however, as Spock had a fairly decent idea of what to do.

Staring into her eyes, Spock wondered if he should do what he had been thinking of for the better part of the night. Swallowing, he held out his hand, specifically two fingers, a silent question being sent out.

Ellara, unfortunately, was not well versed in that particular part of Vulcan customs, and was quite confused. Spock sighed, slightly disappointed that he would have to discuss this with her at a later date. His hand slowly descended back down to his side, and Ellara glanced down in shame.

She realized that the man in front of her had wanted something to happen, but she couldn't understand what. Ellara would most likely have to ask Uhura about it, seeing as she knew more. However, there was something she could do. Standing up on her tippy toes, she pressed a light kiss to Spock's cheek, murmuring a 'goodnight' before walking into her room.

Spock was once more rendered speechless as his hand unconsciously lifted back up yet again, only this time to feel the warm spot where Ellara's lips had just been. He didn't dawdle long, however, and retreated to his room after a brief moment.

* * *

Ellara leaned back on Uhura's bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was completely flat, and lacked any creativity whatsoever. Just like every other room on the ship, other than Kirk's. She waited as Nyota brushed her teeth, wanting to ask her question.

"So?" Uhura asked, crossing her arms as she looked at her bored friend. "What happened?"

"He stuck out two fingers." was all Ellara said.

Uhura raised an eyebrow expectantly, as if waiting to hear what happened next.

Ellara gave her a look that simply said 'what', because she was clearly confused.

Uhura groaned and threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's Vulcan finger-touching, El. To them, it's sort of the equivalent of a human kiss and human hand-holding."

Ellara's mouth gaped wide open as she sat up in a flash. "Seriously?" she asked.

Uhura nodded vigorously.

The Rendorian groaned as she turned and shoved her face into a pillow. Nyota rolled her eyes and walked over to her friend, rubbing her back. "It's ok, you didn't know."

Ellara turned her head to the side to allow speech… and breathing. "But I should've. I ruined a perfectly good romantic moment."

"There'll be more, trust me." commented Uhura, looking at the time and silently wishing this could be over so she could sleep.

"Yeah, I guess." Ellara, as if by some miracle, also noted the time, and slowly got up. "I gotta go sleep. See you tomorrow."

Uhura flopped back on her bed, relieved to be alone. "Peace and quiet at last."

* * *

 **Chapter twenty four! So, we got a little bit of girl talk with El and Uhura, as well as a small argument. And Spock tried to... yeah. To be honest, the canon meaning of that is more along the lines of a hug, but I figured blurring the lines of canon and fanon would work well, so it's more of a mixture of hug and kiss, at least here... We learn the Ellara is very bad at dressing up, but does enjoy it when it is necessary. Also, that girl can run in heels. Spock is also very nervous about all of this. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I shall see you next chapter! By the way, if anyone would like to suggest something for the story, I could work something out. ;)**

 **booklover1898: Thanks! :)**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: They are, right? It's gonna go slow... sort of.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated January 6th, 2016.**


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"We've been summoned." the voice behind her made Ellara jump about a foot off her seat.

She'd been enjoying a relaxing evening meal in the cafeteria, deeply invested in the novel on her PADD. It was a cute romance story that Ellara had read in her teen years. She would have been eating with Spock, but he had come to see her earlier in the day, explaining that he had a lot of paperwork to get through and that they would have to put off that night's meal. Ellara completely understood, appreciative that he had decided to tell her rather then let her go off searching for him in worry. It was as she was finishing up that McCoy had appeared and startled her.

"Mind explaining?" she asked, pulling her satchel off of the bench to let him sit. Bones declined, preferring to stand.

"Well, specifically, you have." Ellara rolled her eyes before getting his message and getting up. "Jim's waiting for you."

Scoffing at this formal summons, Ellara threw out the remainder of her food. "Any reason why you're involved?"

"I was trying to give Jim a vaccination, and he sent me off to get you."

Ellara chuckled, thinking of the last time she had seen Bones attempt to stick a needle in the Captain's neck. That did not end well, if the bruise on her hip was any indication. By this point, they were walking into the transporter room. "He's gonna get killed one day. And not just because of his outrageous hero complex. He'll go down on a planet, catch a very preventable illness, and then I'll have to console Nyota, and Spock'll become Captain…" She trailed off, seeing the familiar purple stripes standing beside the subject of her speech.

"Uh." was her extremely intelligent response to the men and women dressed in formal garb. Purple shirts and pants, accented with gold stripes clarified their status. Once she realized, her shocked face turned to one of anger, and she growled out "Machi."

Bones had to stick out an arm to keep her from charging them, completely shocked at her rage. "Ellara, what the hell?" cried Kirk, stepping in front of the officials. He didn't understand how one of his… albeit usually calmest workers had turned into this person of pure fury.

"They're in my territory, I can fight them if I want. It's the law!" she snarled, still trying to get past the two security guards who were now restraining her arms.

"Miss Lat'toy, we come on official business." one man with a shaved head spoke up, stepping around Kirk to approach her.

Seeing his steps, Ellara backed off quickly, hitting McCoy's chest as she did. She let out a hiss, clearly frustrated. "Don't think that that means I won't get you once your work here is done."

"Alright will everyone just calm down?" demanded Kirk, stepping between Ellara and the others once again. He looked at his counsellor, raising an eyebrow. "Who's macki?"

"Machi." she clarified. "It's the name of the leader of Rendoria. And he's a tyrant!" she shouted to the government officials. "He's been stealing our land and our money, he doesn't do anything when we're invaded, and we've been getting attacked more and more since he made the stupid decision to put all of the Priests in our territory."

Kirk looked irritated, upset that she was still riled up. "Jesus, alright, calm down El. Listen, they just need to know about what you saw of Rendoria Four."

Ellara blinked, not expecting that. She'd thought that they had finally found out it was her that had staged the rebellion five years prior. "Oh. Well, it was just sort of populated, and there were tons of cargo ships flying around, and it looked ridiculously colonized." she supplied, shifting around in silently contained anger.

"What'd you say?" Kirk whispered, not understanding the quick Rendorian.

"Just the truth." Ellara answered, watching as the government officials spoke amongst themselves.

Kirk was silent for a moment before speaking up again. "What was that about Spock being Captain earlier?"

Bones, who had heard, prepared a hypo to use. "Well, I was just saying that if you didn't get your vaccines, you'd get sick and die one day." With perfect timing, McCoy planted one in his friend's neck, a snicker escaping his throat. "And now that won't happen."

"Goddamnit Bones!" Jim called to his escaping friend, mad laughter being heard from down the hallway.

Ellara saw a man look up and then turn back to the others, the discussion becoming slightly animated.

Finally, after about five minutes, they broke apart, and a woman began speaking this time. "Ellara Lat'toy, we thank you for your information. We don't trust these humans as much as we do our own, and although you clearly have a distaste for your leader, we appreciate your willingness."

As they turned to leave, Ellara stopped them. "Listen, these humans aren't that bad. Maybe if you guys tried to fix the rebellion, you could spread out among the stars to see for yourself."

With that, she turned around, grumbling about "stupid Machi and his stupid worker bots".

Kirk looked back and forth between his retreating friend and the group staring in shock at her. He shook his head, placing it in his hands for a minute before shooting it back up and instructing Scotty to get the transporter pad ready.

* * *

Ellara walked back into her room, only to be startled by someone wanting to start a video stream. She clicked accept, and her father's face filled up the screen. "Oh, hey father." she said, surprised.

"Ancestors, Ellara. I've been trying to get in touch with you for almost half an hour." her father replied, slightly teasing.

Ellara blushed, embarrassed at being reprimanded. "Sorry. I was just… nothing. Anyway, what's up?"

Nalli grinned, pulling up a book to show her a page. "The connection is definitely not good enough for me to read that fancy script." sassed Ellara.

Nalli rolled his eyes, dropping the heavy tome onto his desk. "Let me read what I found." He cleared his throat, adjusting small reading glasses he had put on. "So, this is the good part. 'Fire. It is the staple of our culture. It lights our nights, and signifies a change in personality. There are those who are so passionate, though, that when angered, become a living fire weapon. They are our greatest warriors, and are the leaders of our culture. They can bring great change.' And there you have it." Nalli slammed the book shut.

It took a moment for Ellara to fully comprehend the meaning of the words, but once she had, she let out a huff and sat back in her seat. She slowly spun it in a circle, her toe pushing the carpet to move herself. "El? What do you think?" her father asked tentatively.

She finally came back to where she started, facing the screen. Ellara slowly looked up, rage clouding her vision. "I think it's complete bullshit, and that I shouldn't believe some stupid book that tells me I'm a leader. I'm not. Thanks for the help, dad, but I think I'll just forget about it." With that, she rapidly clicked the 'end call' button and stood up, her chair rolling across the room.

She breathed heavily for a few moments, trying to calm herself down. It didn't work, however, and she let out a yell of rage as she picked up the object nearest her and chucked it at the wall. This triggered a chain reaction of fury, and she began tearing everything in her room apart. Thank god they were soundproof. By the end, Ellara was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the wreckage around her.

Her mattress was half off the bed, her lamp tossed to the ground, and her desk and dresser were on their sides. Most of the papers that had been pinned to her walls were ripped or crumpled.

She tilted her head to the side, letting out a 'huh'. That was more satisfying than she thought. With a resigned sigh, however, she began to clean everything up.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, as Ellara was looking at the torn up papers and thinking about how to fix them, her door rang. She stood up, walking over slowly.

Opening the door. Ellara found Spock standing on the other side. His mouth gaped slightly as he saw the disaster that was her room. "Ellara, what has happened?" he asked, stepping in.

Ellara chuckled, giving her response. "I, uh, I got a little upset."

Spock turned to his partner, raising an eyebrow. "A little?"

"Ok. A lot." she looked down in shame.

Spock examined the room, trying to piece together what had happened. Unfortunately, nothing clued him in. However, he noted that a few parts of the room seemed singed, almost as there had been… "Was there a fire?" he asked.

Ellara flinched, finally noticing the blackened areas. "Uh, not exactly."

The Vulcan could tell that the woman standing across from him wasn't telling him the whole truth, however he knew Ellara, and figured that it would be safer to keep his mouth shut. "I was going to invite you to join me in my room for an evening meal, but I see that it would be more helpful if I aided you in cleaning."

"I would appreciate it."

Spock nodded, and moved to pick up the overturned furniture.

* * *

 **Woot woot! Chapter twenty five. Ooooh-la-la! We learn more about the stuff going on on Rendoria, and we get to hear some things about Ellara herself... :) I actually had to speed write this chapter because I've been _hella busy_ with summatives and stuff, and in fact, I have a message. I might not be able to update for the next two weeks, seeing as I'm going to be finishing up my summatives and studying for exams. I will try, though. I actually should have time if I decide to stay after school once I've finished writing my exams, so... maybe just for next week. I will do my best, though, but it might be a bit late. I completely ignored creating two entire projects due Wednesday and Thursday next week... It's ok. I'm a queen at finishing things the night before. :) So, without further ado, adieu.**

 **booklover1898: Great to hear.**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Nice comment.**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated January 13th, 2017.**


	27. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Red alert!" came a voice over the comm.

Ellara jumped up from her seat, hitting the wall as the ship rocked. She unsteadily made her way to the med-bay, determined to help out as much as possible. Unfortunately, she was stopped on her way.

A burly looking man with mottled green skin was holding a foreign gun to her back, instructing her to put her hands up in rough standard. She did so slowly, swallowing thickly in fear. "Move." he growled.

Ellara followed his instructions, realizing he was leading her to the brig. Upon arrival, she saw many other frightened crewmembers already locked up, including Chekov. Unfortunately, the two were on opposite sides of the room, so she couldn't get information from him. She was tossed in with a group of frightened ensigns. The ensigns all cowered back in fear as one of the men growled at them, but Ellara simply stood up straight, her head held high and a defiant look on her face.

The one who was clearly the leader, judging by his more extravagant clothing, approached the glass in front of her. "You." he pointed. "You are foolish. What do you have to be brave about?"

A smirk molded itself onto Ellara's features. "I am a member of the Rendorian species. We are aggressive, like animals, and we fight each other constantly. War is a part of my culture, and I am one of the most ruthless." It wasn't a complete lie; the move she had pulled in her fight on her home planet had been debated by officials before about whether or not it should be considered a crime. Luckily for her, they decided against it.

"Look at your size. You are no more than a weak woman." he chortled, his partners laughing along with him.

"I tore a man's head off and smashed it to bits with my foot. Are you sure you want to test me?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

One of the ensign's tugged at her sleeve. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Ellara simply shrugged her off. "I do not believe you. Your arrogance will be your downfall, and you will be reduced to nothing more than a sex toy. I will kill everyone on this ship, and you will become mine." the man growled out.

With that, he pulled out his gun and shot the crewmember being brought in. It only took a few moments for her to recognize the terrified face of Ensign Hurst. She had been making such progress. Her life, wasted… A rage overcame Ellara like no other. She quickly ran at the glass, furious. "I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" she shouted.

Behind her, she could hear screams of fear. Ellara could feel heat rolling off of her in waves, but she didn't care. Regaining her composure, she continued. "If you hurt one more person here, you will regret it for the rest of your short, miserable life." she spat.

The man seemed almost amused. "Bring her out." he ordered. "I want to see you fight, and realize that you will die without having saved anyone."

None of the guards seemed ready to grab her, so Ellara simply walked out with power behind each step. She was still flaming, and she hoped that her appearance was at least slightly intimidating. "I hope you're ready to watch your plans crumble to pieces."

The man chuckled as he tossed his gun away, raising his fists. Ellara simply put her legs shoulder width apart. She was coiled like a spring, ready to attack the moment she saw him move.

He growled, running towards her. Ellara stepped to the side while she considered her options. This man was large, and intelligent; she had no chance. But she had to protect the others. He would kill them. With that thought, Ellara turned around, grabbed him by the shoulder and flipped onto his back.

He was taken aback, having not expected that, and Ellara quickly wrapped her arms around his throat, pulling hard. If she wasn't strong enough to rip his head off, she could at least strangle him. His hands grasped at her arms, claws tearing through skin. However, she could feel the fire emerging from her burning him, and she slowly felt his life force giving out. "Ellara!" called the voice of the Captain.

The man below her doubled over in pain as he was shot in the stomach, and Ellara fell back, whacking her head against the floor. She quickly calmed down, her vision doubling as Spock's face hovered above her own. "Spock?" she asked wearily, before losing consciousness.

"Ellara." called Spock softly, trying to wake the woman lying on the floor.

Around him, the invaders were being rounded up by the Enterprise's security officers. It was lucky for his crew that their attackers did not seem to function well without a leader. How they had even managed to get on their ship, he did not know.

McCoy, who had been following closely behind, leaned down a shined a light in Ellara's eyes. "She's unconscious, Spock. I'm gonna bring her to the med bay."

He moved to pick up Ellara, but Spock had already gathered her up in his arms. Spock began walking, keeping his eyes on the face of the Rendorian.

* * *

"Oh, shit, that hurts." was the first thing Ellara said as she woke.

"Eloquent choice of words." spoke a man beside her.

Ellara turned her head, the shock on her face giving way to joy at seeing it was only Spock. "How long have you been here?" she asked, attempting to sit up.

He was interrupted before he could answer, however, by McCoy walking in. "Oh hell no. You're staying down, missy. Ya got a concussion when ya hit your head. And I wanna keep you here for a little longer, make sure those cuts on your arm aren't gonna be a problem."

Ellara looked at her right forearm, noting that it had been wrapped in bandages. Spock watched as Bones walked off, before answering his partner's question. "I have been here since I brought you."

She blinked, not having expected that. "You didn't have to." she commented quietly.

"I wanted to." replied Spock, really taking Ellara aback. "I was…" he paused, trying to come up with the proper word. "Worried is not a powerful enough word, but it is the only one I can think of. I was worried."

"Oh."

Spock stood up, coming to stand by Ellara's bedside. "When the attack began, and I heard that many members of the crew had been brought to the brig, I feared for your safety. I should have been focusing on saving the ship, but all I could think of was whether or not someone had harmed you. And they have."

He stopped talking, and Ellara could see him clench his jaw softly. She reached out a hand, clasping his sleeve, making sure to avoid his own hand. "Hey, I'm ok. I just… I'm sorry for putting myself in harm's way. I should have thought it through. But I had to protect them, do you understand?" tears filled her eyes. "They killed Ensign Hurst, and I couldn't do anything."

Spock calmly grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from his wrist. He then gently ran his hand down the side of her face. Ellara leaned into the contact, feeling his affection and worry for her. He slowly dropped his hand back down, and Ellara whispered, "Thank you."

He had calmed her down, and she began to feel exhausted. "I'm just going to…"

"Sleep, Ellara. You have earned it."

* * *

"Jim! Jim! Did you see that?!" hissed out Uhura, smacking the back of her hand against her boyfriend's arm.

He let out a yelp of pain. "Jeez, Nyota. Yeah, I did."

"He so likes her." she squealed, turning away from the sight before her. "He just stroked the side of her face!"

Chuckling, Jim commented. "I do have eyes, you know."

Nyota rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know. I'm just really happy that our plan worked out."

The two looked back into the med-bay, where Spock was watching dutifully over a sleeping Ellara. It was beautiful to behold, like two angels finally finding their soulmates.

* * *

 **ALERT! I HAVE A POLL UP ON MY ACCOUNT CURRENTLY ABOUT THE NEXT FANFIC I'M GOING TO WRITE. IT IN NO WAY MEANS THIS ONE IS ENDING SOON. I JUST WANT TO KNOW SO I CAN FLESH OUT THE STORYLINE. IT SHALL BE CLOSING BY THE NEXT UPDATE. IF THE RESULTS ARE INCONCLUSIVE, I SHALL OPEN IT AGAIN. ALERT!**

 **This was definitely a filler chapter, but I managed to find some spare time to write this really quickly. It seems that despite her refusal to accept it, Ellara is taking on the role of 'warrior' of the Enterprise... Oooooh la la. Also(If I could I'd be slapping someone's arm excitedly rn) SPOCK CARESSED ELLARA'S CHEEK! Yeah sorry I get excited. But in a complete change of topic, good luck to those who live in the US rn. I'm very sorry for what's happening tomorrow, and I wish you luck.**

 **Bookl0ver1998: Haha will do.**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: That's great to hear!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated January 19th, 2017.**


	28. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Slow down, El. I know you're excited to get out, but you still have to do it calmly."

Ellara rolled her eyes at the smart words of Bones. She knew he was right, but she still wanted to leave the med-bay and get back to work. She'd been looking at her PADD more frequently, scheduling appointments. She had at least twenty lined up.

Spock, however, nodded his head along to the good Doctor. "It would be wise to take your time in returning to work, Ellara."

Shooting him a glare, Ellara got up swiftly and smoothly. "See?" she said cockily. "I'm fine."

Bones looked at her expectantly, almost waiting for her words to backfire and for her to fall. However, when she didn't, he simply rolled his eyes and shooed her out. "And Spock."

The Vulcan turned around. "Make sure she doesn't overwork herself. And don't agree with me, it makes me very uncomfortable!" he added.

* * *

"Spock, are you alright?" asked Ellara, putting down her fork.

"What do you mean?" replied Spock, coming back to the situation he was in.

Ellara gave him a small smile. "I've asked you three times what you did in the lab today. I don't think I've ever seen you this distracted."

Spock sat up straighter, realizing he had been concentrated on something different. "I apologize. I was worried."

"About what?"

"You."

Ellara's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn't expected that, of all things. "Oh." She looked down at her food and took a deep breath. "Why were you worried about me?"

"When you were attacked, I felt fearful for your safety. I care for you, Ellara, more than I thought I would in such a short time."

Chuckling, Ellara stood up and sat on the table in front of Spock. "Same here. I don't know how it happened, but I really, _really_ like you, Spock. It's strange."

"What is strange?"

"I used to think you were pretentious. That you felt you knew better than everyone else. And now I see the real you, and I think he's amazing."

Ellara tilted her head to the side, her smile turning soft. She suddenly got a very impulsive idea, and before she could think through the consequences, she voiced it. "Can I kiss you?"

Spock raised an eyebrows just slightly, his mouth opening a little bit. Instead of answering, he slowly stood up, pushing his chair back as he did. Spock walked forwards a couple of steps, until he was only centimetres away from her face. Ellara, taking the hint, moved her face forwards and connected her lips with his. His hand rose up and rested beside her thigh as he leaned forward into the kiss.

After a minute, Ellara leaned back, pressing her forehead against his. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I-uh-" she gulped. "Thanks."

Ellara was breathing heavily, looking down as Spock took a few steps back, looking down as well. "I agree." was all he said.

The two looked up at each other simultaneously, and Ellara burst out in laughter. "I do not see the humour in the situation." commented Spock, slightly miffed. Had he not been acceptable?

Ellara shook her head as she tried to calm down. "I don't either. I'm not sure why I'm laughing, to be honest."

Spock, understanding it had not been because of himself, raised the corner of his mouth just the slightest bit.

Out of the blue, when Ellara had calmed a bit, Spock said, "I would like to make a meal for you."

"Oh?"

"Yes. We have only had replicated meals together. I feel as though sharing one that I have cooked would be… beneficial to our relationship." replied Spock, sitting down once again.

Ellara raised an eyebrow at him as she retook her spot. "I think you may encounter a small problem there."

"If you are referring to the fact that I am a vegetarian, and that your people are almost considered carnivores, I have taken that into consideration. I hope to surprise you with my selection."

"I look forward to this meal, Spock."

* * *

"Meat fondue? With vegetables on the side? Interesting choice, Mister Spock." cooed Ellara, sidling up to his side.

The two were seated in his living room with the lights turned down low. She could tell that he had done some research on romantic evenings, as there were candles and soft music. Listening closely, Ellara noticed that it was a classic tune from Rendoria. "You really went all out with tonight, didn't you?" she asked, giving him an appreciative look.

Spock was pleased that he had surprised her. She seemed to enjoy the setting and the meal, which was a very good thing for him indeed. "I felt that it would be appropriate."

Ellara and Spock enjoyed a quiet meal, speaking softly to each other every once in awhile. When they had finished, Ellara leaned back as Spock cleaned up. Pulling out her PADD, she checked to see if she had any appointments the next day, but noticed something peculiar about the date. "Hey, Spock?" she called out.

"Yes?" he replied.

"We'll have been dating for a year tomorrow." she said, getting up to stand beside him.

He looked at the screen of her PADD, which she had pointed towards him, and nodded his head. "So it would seem. Would you like to do something special for it?"

Ellara took a moment to think. That was what human couples did, right? They celebrated? She doubted that Vulcans did, and Rendorian's only celebrated once they were married. Realizing she had neglected to answer Spock, Ellara shook her head no. "I don't think we need to. It's not a part of either of our cultures, so why should she?"

"My thinking exactly." replied Spock as he grabbed some papers from his desk. "However, I do have a proposition for you."

If Spock had been more human, he would have begun shuffling the sheets in his hand and he would be sweating heavily. Thankfully for him, he was not, and kept his nerves as bay.

"What is it?" asked Ellara.

Spock showed her the stack in his hand. "In Rendorian culture, the couple lives together until they are ready to be married, correct?" he asked.

Ellara nodded slowly, and Spock could see her eyes skimming the words. "I thought it would be beneficial to our relationship if we shared a room."

Spock could see Ellara swallow thickly, but she did not look scared or upset. She seemed… happy. Giving him a large smile, she threw her arms around his neck, saying, "I'd love to!"

He stumbled back from the force of her hug, however, after a few beats, he wrapped his arms around her torso. "Good. If you would sign the papers, we could bring your things here as soon as possible."

Ellara pulled back to look at the man in front of her. To other people, they'd wonder why he didn't seem pleased. However, looking closely, Ellara saw the small crinkle at the corner of his eyes and the slight upturn of his lips.

"Thank you, Spock."

"It is my pleasure."

* * *

 ** _BTW I posted a new poll with the selections from the last poll if y'all could vote on it._ Chapter twenty-seven. Yes, I am aware that it's short. In case you couldn't tell... I am running out of ideas for this story. I don't really know where else to go besides having them get married... and then that's endgame... To be honest, I started up to poll because I'm thinking of closing this story soon. It's been a pleasure writing this story, and it's almost 30 chapters long(holy craperonie), but material is hard to come up with originally. I could go by The Original Series, but then it wouldn't be the same Spock, and it would mean watching it all over again... So I'll probably write a couple more chapters and end it. It feels like the time. I thank you all for reading it, and I hope you don't resent me too much. :/**

 **Bookl0ver1998: Thanks!**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: I know. :)**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated January 26th, 2017.**


	29. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"You told him you WHAT?!" shouted Uhura, gathering the attention of a few crew members walking down the hall.

Ellara shushed her friend, checking to make sure no one was still looking. "That I loved him."

Uhura shook her head, letting out a small sound of frustration. "Why would you even _think_ of doing that?"

Ellara shrugged her shoulders, letting out a long sigh. "I don't know. I… It just sort of slipped out. I'd just spent, like, six hours doing paperwork and…"

* * *

 _Ellara was sitting, hunched over her desk with papers spread out over every available surface. There had been another small attack, only this time, many crew members were left feeling very anxious, and she'd had almost twenty sessions that day._

 _Leaning back, Ellara massaged her wrist as it had once again cramped up. She looked around, noting that the pile had decreased dramatically since six hours prior. Shaking her head, Ellara returned to her work._

 _She was so invested in the words before her that she didn't hear Spock open the door and walk in. Ellara only looked up when she noticed a shadow looming over her desk. Raising her head, she saw her stoic boyfriend standing in front of her desk. She quickly checked the clock on the wall and saw she was a half hour late._

 _Ellara let out a groan of frustration, and Spock watched as she dropped her head to the desk, it making a small 'thump' upon contact. "You did not show up." was all he said._

 _From her position, Ellara said "Mhmm."_

" _I assume it was from the copious amounts of paperwork here with you."_

 _Another sound of agreement was heard._

" _If you would like, I could offer my assistance."_

 _At this, Ellara's head shot up and a small smile played at her lips. "I would appreciate it so much, if you could. Unfortunately, all of this information is confidential, and I would be breaking about ten rules by letting you help."_

" _I thought so. May I, at the very least, bring you food and perhaps some tea?"_

 _Ellara nodded, her eyes closing with gratefulness. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I need that right now."_

 _While Spock left to get her food, Ellara took a small time to spin her chair in lazy circles. She was almost done her work, so she could afford to waste a small amount of time and clear her mind up._

 _When he came back, Spock was carrying a plate with some sort of sandwich in one hand, and a cup of steaming tea in the other. He placed it in front of his girlfriend, and she practically moaned at the sight. "Honestly, I love you sometimes, Spock."_

 _Upon realizing what she had said, that two stiffened, and Ellara's head shot up to look at Spock. "I- I mean. I… uhm…"_

" _I… believe that I should leave and let you work." murmured Spock, backing out quickly._

 _Ellara rose, as if to stop him, but couldn't think of anything to say. And so, Spock left, practically rushing down the hall to his room._

 _Sitting back down, Ellara let out a large groan and practically slammed her head into her desk, completely and utterly done with herself._

* * *

"I mean, it can't be that bad, right?" she asked, knowing it was pointless.

Uhura shot her a harsh look, immediately deflating any hope that may have resided within her.

The two finally reached Nyota's room and stepped in. "Thanks for letting me stay here." said Ellara for what may have been the hundredth time.

"It's no problem."

"Yeah. I'm thinking about replacing the couch in my office. Not as comfortable as I thought." Ellara cracked her back a bit as if to prove her point.

Nyota raised an eyebrow at her. "You really don't think Spock would let you sleep in your _shared room_?"

Ellara sat down with a huff on Nyota's couch. "It's not that. I just want to give him space to… I don't know. It just feels wrong to be there with him right now. I feel like I've already burst one bubble, and I'd rather not invade his privacy along with it."

Uhura rolled her eyes and sat down next to her friend. "Jesus, it's your room too, now. You share it. If he can't put on his big boy pants and accept it, then I don't know what to say."

Shaking her head, Ellara looked at Uhura. The other woman could see a few tears in her eyes, and put her arm comfortingly around Ellara. "It's not that simple. He's different. He's both the least and most sensitive man I know. And I know we've been dating for like, a year and a half now, but I sort of wanted him to say it first."

"Why?"

Ellara chuckled, "Well, I felt that if he said it first, it wouldn't be like I was pressuring him into saying it, and that it'd mean he really did… you know."

Uhura was silent for a moment as things seemed to click. "Wait, since when have you loved him?"

Looking down, Ellara tried to think of the exact timeframe. "I'd say… it was the first time we kissed. It was about a week before he asked me to move in with him."

Nyota's mouth gaped wide open. "That's six months!" she cried in outrage.

Ellara nodded quickly, her head dropping to her hands. "I know. I just… I'm so scared, Ny. What if he doesn't love me? What if he _never_ loves me?!"

With that, she began crying, leaning her head onto Uhura's shoulder. Meanwhile, Uhura was thinking up of ways to help her friend. However, she couldn't come up with anything. It would be up to Spock to help with this one.

* * *

"Ellara, wake up." came a gentle voice.

She could feel her shoulder being shaken, but Ellara simply did not want to get up. She'd had an amazing dream.

"Please, Ellara." said the voice once again.

Taking it in, Ellara was tempted to open her eyes. That sound, it was cold and calculating, yet had a warm undertone that spoke of hidden treasures beneath. Gently opening her eyes, Ellara found Spock kneeling in front of her, his hand on her shoulder. Once he saw that she was awake, however, he let go and stood back up.

"I have been trying to wake you for ten minutes." he said, his voice becoming hard as he remembered that Nyota was standing behind him.

Ellara sat up, pressing a hand to her head as she got a small head rush. "I'm sorry. I was… tired." murmured Ellara.

She felt the need to apologize, to make an excuse. She didn't feel like she was good enough for him. Spock seemed about to say something, but paused, turning around. He looked at Nyota, and said, "If it is alright, I would like to speak with Ellara in private."

Uhura didn't need to be told twice and practically bolted out of the room. He had no doubt that her and Jim would be listening in, however the semblance of privacy was comforting.

Spock looked at the ground for a moment, as though to gather his courage. Finally, he spoke. "I have missed you."

Ellara blinked a couple of times, not believing what she had heard. He'd missed her? She thought for sure that he was here to berate her, or break up with her, or- She still had to answer. "Oh." was all Ellara managed to squeak out.

"I do not know why you chose to sleep elsewhere, however, I find that it has helped me realize something. I could not sleep without you next to me. I," he took a deep breath, "I love you." The words were stiff, and cracked slightly as they left his mouth, and the way they came out sounded off, but it was perfect coming from him. Ellara immediately jumped up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and running her hands through the short strands of his hair. He returned the action, and she felt him pull ever so slightly at her cropped hair.

The two broke apart, and Ellara ran a hand down him until it rested where his heart was. She could feel it beating fast, and she could see the love in his eyes. "I love you, too, Spock." she replied, a smile breaking out across her face.

From outside the room, the happy couple heard Uhura squealing in excitement and an "ow!" coming from the ship's Captain. Ellara chuckled, happy to know those two were perfectly fine.

"I'm sorry for leaving. I thought you'd be upset with me." whispered Ellara, looking down at her feet.

Spock moved impossibly closer, and replied in his own hushed whisper, "I could never be upset with you, my _ashal-veh._ "

Ellara's eyebrows shot up at the Vulcan used in the sentence. Whispering back, she said, "I have no clue what that last part meant."

Spock looked down into his girlfriend's' eyes, the corner of his lip tilting upwards ever so slightly. "It means 'darling'."

Eyes widening, Ellara said an elongated "oh" of understanding. "In Rendorian, we say 'El'ownen.' It means 'my precious one'. I heard my mother say it to my father every day."

Tears filled her eyes for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled even wider. "You are el'ownen."

"It is a beautiful word." commented Spock.

He leaned his head down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before pulling away. This time, he moved a few steps back and Ellara leaned forward unconsciously.

They would be ok.

* * *

 **I know, I know, I'm late. I had asked someone to help me write the kiss(it was supposed to be much more... passionate...), except they then told me they couldn't and then I kept putting off writing it because I felt awkward and I didn't want it to suck... So, sorry. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, though, and I will be putting up the poll once again with the new results(I'm trying to do a sort of trial by elimination. Four options left).**

 **So, yeah!**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Thanks.**

 **Bookl0ver1998: Woops...**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated February 9th, 2017.**


	30. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Shore leave!" called out the Captain, slapping Ellara on the back as he sat down.

"Again?" she asked as she took a bite of her bagel.

He nodded, and Ellara pondered about how they seemed to have it frequently. "What are your plans?" asked Uhura, looking at her boyfriend.

"I don't really know." he said, furrowing his brow.

Nyota looked down, and quietly said, "You could come and stay with me and my family."

Kirk looked at her, shocked, but slowly nodded his head.

Spock, who had been watching the actions of those around him, then leaned in close to Ellara to talk to her. "Perhaps it would also make sense for us to meet each other's families as well."

Ellara discreetly nodded her head and promised him they would come up with a schedule later on. "I have a lot of work to get to, so I'm gonna go."

Kirk groaned when she stood up, not having had any time to pester her that morning. "Sorry, Cap. Duty calls."

* * *

"So, who should we visit first? Your dad or mine?" Ellara asked, having just finished her evening meal with Spock.

"I do not think that it would make a great difference, however I have already met your father." Spock replied.

Ellara nodded, thinking things over. If they met with her father first, he'd insist that they stay as long as possible. If they met Spock's father first, she would without a doubt be incredibly nervous. However, getting it over with would be the better option; her nerves could persuade her to stay the entirety of shore leave on Rendoria. Therefore, her decision was made. "I think we should visit your father first." she said, nervous to see his reaction.

Maybe he didn't want her to meet his father? What if he was embarrassed to be seen with her? "That is acceptable. I shall make the necessary arrangements."

On the outside, Spock was calm and cool. Inside, he was silently cheering. He was wary about meeting Ellara's father as her boyfriend, rather than as a colleague. What would happen? Would he be offended that Ellara had chosen a Vulcan as her mate? Would he refuse to accept Spock? So many doubts were swimming around inside his head, and it was a good idea for him to see his father; to have those doubts be pushed back with logic.

"Is there anything I should know in advance, Spock?" asked Ellara, concern filling her voice.

"To what are you referring to?" inquired Spock.

Ellara sighed, slightly disappointed that she'd have to explain when she was already feeling apprehensive. "About the culture; are there things I should and shouldn't do? What's the planet like? What are the customs? What am I not allowed to talk about?"

Spock stared at his girlfriend as though she had grown three heads. "Although greatly appreciated, you have no reason to bother yourself with that. Vulcans do not often have visitors from other planets, that is true, however they do tend to keep their culture private. If they had wanted others to behave as they had, they would give more information. If you so desire, I may tell you the basics so as to not be too disrespectful, but otherwise, do not fear that you shall offend my father. He is, after all, Ambassador to Earth."

Ellara nodded her head as she processed the information, but gave a double take at that last bit. "Wait, what? Your dad's Ambassador to Earth?"

"Yes." Spock raised a brow. "Have I not told you that?"

Shaking her head, Ellara replied, "No, you didn't. I-" she stopped herself short. "I mean, it is fairly important information, but I can see why you didn't tell me."

"Why is that?" questioned Spock.

Ellara thought of her answer for a moment. "Well, I mean, you never really talk about your family. So it makes sense why I wouldn't know."

Spock pondered about what she had said. It was true, he did not speak of his family very often. Thinking back on it, he was quite closed off about his life outside of Starfleet. Maybe he would rectify that during shore leave. "Do you have the appropriate clothing for visiting Vulcan?" asked Spock.

He watched as Ellara blinked once, twice, before opening and closing her mouth like a fish. "What exactly does that entail?"

"Vulcan is much warmer than Rendoria, especially considering Rendoria is slightly colder than Earth." Spock supplied.

Ellara mentally sifted through her wardrobe and put together some suitable outfits she could wear. "I think I have the necessary clothing."

The two stood in silence for a moment before Ellara walked forward and outstretched her arms. Spock understood and reciprocated the action, embracing her. Ellara slowly began swaying, pressing her face to Spock's chest and breathing him in. He smelled like whatever cologne he used, as well as soap. It was a strange smell, but comforting to her. "I love you." she whispered, disentangling herself.

"I love you, as well." replied Spock, watching as Ellara leaned back on their footboard.

She gave him a small smile, and tapping her hand against the wood as she stood back up and said "Gonna start packing."

* * *

"So, this is Vulcan." Ellara commented, placing her hands on her waist. Not even five minutes on the planet and she was sweating. She was thankful for her decision to get changed on the shuttle over. "It's hot."

Spock shot her a small smirk, beginning to walk forward. "I told you, did I not?"

"Don't get sassy, mister." teased Ellara, pulling her luggage behind her.

Up ahead, she could see a large building with a large balcony surrounding it. By the entrance, she could see an older Vulcan man standing with his arms placed quite formally in front of him. Although Ellara was quite a distance away, she could see that this man bared quite a resemblance to Spock. She could only assume that this was Sarek, his father.

They finally reached the house, and the older Vulcan male said, "Spock."

Spock nodded his head and replied, "Father."

Ellara was mere seconds away from making a joke, however she kept it to herself, feeling as though her present company might not appreciate it that well. Sarek then turned to her, and tilted his head very minutely. "You must be Miss Lat'toy."

Ellara's cheeks flushed at being called by her last name. It didn't happen often, especially not without a Counsellor in front of it, and it reminded her of when she was in school and the teacher was telling her to stop doing something. "If it's alright with you, I would prefer Ellara." she said, quite quietly if she had to say so herself.

However, knowing Vulcan's had superior hearing to that of Rendorians, Ellara knew that Sarek had heard and he nodded his head. "Ellara, then. I am Sarek, Spock's father. Please come in."

He then turned and opened the door for Spock and Ellara. Spock could feel Ellara standing tensely next to him, so he placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked in to reassure her that everything was alright. It seemed to have worked as he felt her back muscles release and her steps became lighter. Looking at Ellara from the corner of his eye, he could see her eyebrows slowly pull apart and the corner of her lips tilt up. Spock was shocked at how one simple touch from him made her react so; he was awestruck by how much she relied on him, how much he affected her. Ellara truly was a miracle.

"I trust you remember where your room is, Spock." Sarek spoke as they paused in a quite large room.

It consisted of a large set of stairs leading to a second floor, with a large light fixture hanging from the ceiling. The entirety of the second floor was visible from their vantage point, as it was open, with a simple railing surrounding it. Ellara was taken away with the beautiful architecture; she had briefly studied it during high school in a compulsory art class, and although she found it beautiful, had not taken more lessons due to the fact that she already knew her career path in Starfleet.

Spock nodded, and led both him and his girlfriend through the giant home. His childhood room had been redecorated to serve as a guest room, but if he focused hard enough, he could see an echo of himself working in a desk in the corner, meditating beside the bed, and writing complex equations on a whiteboard that had been taken down from the wall. This, however clinical, was home to him.

Beside him, Spock could see Ellara gazing around the room curiously. He could practically feel the question on the tip of her tongue. "It did not look like this when I lived here."

Ellara's cheeks flushed once again, this time at having been caught, and she gave him a small nod. "I see. I guess sentiment isn't as present in Vulcan homes as it is in that of Rendorian's."

"It is not, no." Spock replied, admitting it.

"It's nice, though." commented Ellara.

Spock raised an eyebrow at her. "I saw at least three guest rooms, but this one is still yours. There's at least a small amount of sentiment in that."

Thinking it over, Spock realized that she was right. He voiced his thoughts, "You are correct."

Ellara smirked, muttering, "Of course I am."

Spock gave a small smirk at that. Ellara, although very caring about the feelings of others, could still be slightly obnoxious when she wanted to.

He was going to mention it when he saw how vulnerable Ellara looked in that moment. Spock was honestly shocked; she looked borderline terrified. She was hugging her midsection and if he focused hard enough, he could see her shaking. Spock realized that she had never had to experience this, and that her fear of his father disliking her was giving her anxiety. Without speaking, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. In such close contact, he could feel every tremor that went through her body, feel the moment when she finally stopped shaking, and he could feel when she slowly removed her arms from herself and hugged him back.

The two stood like that for a moment, Spock waiting to make sure that she was calmed down, and Ellara just basking in his warmth. Finally, he pulled away, but made sure to keep his hands on her shoulders, so that she would remain close. "Are you feeling better?" he asked quietly.

Ellara took in his deep and clear voice, closing her eyes and breathing deeply before opening them and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you ready to go out?"

Another nod.

Spock repeated her action in agreement, and put his arm on the small of her back as he led her out.

"I see you have both settled in." Sarek commented, putting down the book he was reading.

"We have." Spock replied, taking the initiative.

Sarek held out his arm, indicating for the two to sit on the couches that were there.

Ellara took a quick glance at the room, absorbing her surroundings. It was a beautiful home, full of deep and rich colours, and had a very open concept. The couches were placed on top of a beautiful rug, and there was an abstract coffee table in the middle.

She was brought from thought, however, by Sarek's next question. "Ellara, Spock told me you have been previously engaged. May I ask what ended the relationship?

* * *

 **(Real quick; I meant to update the 21st but completely forgot to publish it after I added it to my docs) Again, vv sorry for being late. I just wanted to make sure I wrote the interaction between Sarek, Spock and Ellara correctly(also I've been busy with a gif rp blog but shhhh).**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Heheh thanks!**

 **Bookl0ver1998: Nice!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated February 23rd, 2017.**


	31. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

 _She was brought from thought, however, by Sarek's next question. "Ellara, Spock told me you have been previously engaged. May I ask what ended the relationship?"_

Had Ellara been drinking, there would have been a massive spit take at that moment. As it was, she ended up choking a little bit on her saliva.

Spock, while slightly surprised by Ellara's reaction, was more affected by the interrogation already coming from his father. He had expected a bit more tact, however, he could see the logic in taking Ellara by surprise. It did not mean he approved of Sarek's actions, though, not one bit.

After composing herself, Ellara opened her mouth to answer. "Uh, well, I guess, it's a long story, but the watered down version is that she died."

Sarek 'hmm'ed in response, but didn't seem satisfied. "If it is acceptable to you, I would appreciate to hear the whole… story."

Ellara winced, having expected that. "It would require me to go into some detail about the history of my planet." she warned, trying to avoid answering.

"As Ambassador, it would be beneficial for me to learn more about the newest addition to the Federation."

There was no getting out of this one. Ellara fidgeted in her seat to get comfortable before starting. "Right, well, before we start…" and so she told him the story of her relationship with Lywa.

At the end, he seemed to contemplate what had been said. If the facts surprised or angered him, he didn't show it. It was intimidating. "I understand. If you could please follow me, we shall partake in an evening meal."

All three of them stood, and the couple followed Sarek into a large dining room, where three places had been set.

Sarek sat at the head of the table, with Spock and Ellara sitting beside him, but across from each other. She had a feeling this was done intentionally, so that Sarek could question her and leave her without the support of Spock, forcing her to think by herself.

Her predictions were contradicted, however, when she found that they enjoyed the meal in complete silence, save for the occasional clanking of utensils on the dish. Thinking back on it, Ellara remembered Spock mentioning that this was common in Vulcan society, and that he only spoke with Ellara because he knew she enjoyed conversation during a meal.

Once they were finished, Sarek politely declined her invitation to have her help him clean up. However, he had Spock pick up their dishes and the two retreated to the kitchen. From where she was sitting, looking around, she could faintly hear them whispering to each other.

On Spock's end, he was internally fuming. "Spock, do you deem it wise to pursue a relationship with a woman who comes from a society where marriages are arranged before birth?"

He was severely disappointed with his father. "I would have thought that it would make little difference, considering that I was bonded with T'Pring at the age of twelve."

"That is not the point, Spock. Your arrangement with T'Pring was thought out carefully and held logic behind it. Her engagement was decided a month before her birth. How could her parents know if the two would be a suitable match?" Sarek responded cooly.

"I do not know, father. I have neglected to seek answers from Ellara. Does it not matter enough that I care about her?" Spock replied. His voice held an edge to it that informed his father of Spock's rising anger.

"Careful, Spock. You are forgetting yourself." Sarek reprimanded, and Spock lowered his chest, realising he had puffed it out in a sort of challenge.

He looked down slightly, and said, "My apologies, father."

Sarek swallowed, disappointed in both Spock and himself. "It is of no consequence. I am not saying that I do not approve of the match, Spock," Sarek began, "I simply wonder if it is logical."

"Father, I would like to tell you something..."

From outside the kitchen, Ellara had gotten up and was gazing at the pictures on the wall. They were mainly made up of deep colours, and matched the decor of the house. However, right behind Sarek was a painting of him, Spock, and someone she assumed to be Amanda. Just looking at her, Ellara could tell that she must have been a kind and gentle woman with a bit of an attitude, if her small smirk was anything to go off of.

"Ellara, would you join me on a walk?" asked Spock.

Ellara jumped and yelped, having been surprised. She pressed a hand to her chest, where she felt her racing heart, and said, "Oh my ancestors, Spock, you scared me."

From the corner of her eye, she could see Sarek's eyebrow raise a tad at her dramatic reaction. _So that's where Spock got it from,_ she thought. "I would love to join you." she replied, smiling up at her boyfriend.

He began walking, and the two left the house. "So, have a destination in mind?" Ellara asked Spock.

"I am taking you to meet someone." he responded mysteriously.

"Ok then." murmured Ellara, slightly irritated by his lack of a proper response.

The two walked in silence for a considerable amount of time. The sun, which had been beginning it's descent across the sky, now cast a beautiful reddish glow on the sand.

Finally, they arrived in front of a very modest home. Spock reached forward and rang the doorbell. From inside, Ellara could hear a cat meowing, and wondered just who lived here.

The door opened, and Ellara was taken aback. In front of her was an old man, except that it was Spock. She looked back and forth between the two men, as the other man looked on with mirth. "I- what- how?" she asked, confused.

"Please, come inside, I shall explain." the other man replied. She could hear laughter in his voice, which was odd, considering that he was very obviously Vulcan.

He gave the two tea, and even prepared Ellara's just the way she liked it. They all sit in a small living room, where a cat was purring on an armchair in the corner. "I am Spock." said Spock, only it wasn't her Spock, it was the other one.

"We refer to him as Spock Prime to differentiate between us." commented her Spock.

"How?" she questioned again.

Spock Prime turned to her, his face becoming slightly grim. "Do you remember a few years ago, when Vulcan was destroyed?" She nodded. "An anomaly had opened up in space, and I, as well as Nero were brought through."

"Wait, so, you're from an alternate universe?" she asked, incredulity filling her voice.

"That is correct. You are just as perceptive as you were in my universe." he said. Ellara could sense that this upset him, a bit.

"You… you knew me?" she whispered.

He raised his head, nodded, and said, "We were married."

Ellara gulped, not sure how to take that information. "We… we were?" she asked, cautious.

He gave a good hearty chuckle, shaking his head. "No, we were not, I am afraid. Not for lack of trying on my part. You simply wished to be my friend. After recovering from your rejection, I moved on, and we spent many years as the closest of companions."

"Oh." was all she said.

For some reason, this disappointed her. She had a feeling that his reality and hers were different, however, it didn't mean she was pleased to know that they weren't together in another reality. "To see the both of you here together is a pleasure that I never got to experience." Spock Prime wisely said.

"If I may ask, what is the nature of our visit?" asked Spock.

Spock Prime then turned to look at… Spock, and replied, "It was to introduce myself to Ellara. I assumed that you would most likely not tell her about me, and that she should know who I was. After all, I am you."

"And I am here…" she mumbled.

"I am aware that you are here." Spock responded, albeit a little confused.

Spock Prime had a hint of a smile on his face. "I believe Ellara was referring to my speaking of her as though she were not present. My apologies; I had forgotten how much you disliked that."

Ellara shook her head, standing up. "I'm sorry, this is just so confusing. It's like you're Spock, but there's something… different. I don't wanna say wrong, but it's so off-putting. I feel like, if Spock had been raised to embrace his human side a bit more, then he'd be you."

She began pacing, a frown crossing her features. Spock was now worried. He knew that this would have been a bit shocking, but she was almost… scared. That was a good word for it. "Ellara." he called quietly.

She turned to look at him, and he stood up and went to her. "We shall only be a moment." he turned and told his alternate self.

Spock brought Ellara outside and watched as she leaned herself against the wall of the house, tilting her head up to the sun. "Ellara, please, tell me what is troubling you."

He watched as she took a deep breath and turned to him. In her eyes, he could see many conflicting emotions. "I just… It's so overwhelming, Spock. It's you, but it's not you. It's like seeing the man that I love copied and distorted. It's so… It's so strange."

Spock took a few moments to formulate a response. "I shall not pretend to understand what that feels like. However, I am sure that, had the Ellara from his universe come through as well, I would feel the same way."

Ellara gave a half-hearted chuckle, shooting him a warm smile. "Not your best comforting session, but still effective."

"I do not understand." Spock replied, perfectly aware of what she meant.

"Let's just say, it's a good thing I'm the counsellor."

* * *

When Spock and Ellara arrived home, the sky outside was a deep blue, with stars sprawled across like a beautiful painting. Ellara took a moment to just look. She didn't linger long, however, as it was late and they were both tired.

Quietly, they entered the house and retreated to their room where they got changed and got into bed. Spock fell asleep almost as soon after he said goodnight to her, which included a kiss and a stroke of her face, but Ellara stayed awake to ponder on the days' events.

She had met her boyfriend from another universe. It made sense that she was shaken up. What didn't make sense was why she was… scared of him. Ellara tried to think of why, and she believed she came up with an idea. She was afraid that his failure at dating the alternate version of her was a reflection on how her and Spock would turn out. Coming to this realization, she quickly turned and laid her head on Spock's chest to hear his… well, not exactly his heartbeat, but to hear him breath. Ellara felt as Spock slowly put his arm around her back, clutching her to him. It was nice, how they were resting, and she was pleased to know that even in sleep he wanted her to be near.

* * *

The next morning, the two woke up quite early to make breakfast for Sarek. Spock had woken her up with the information that it was customary in Vulcan culture for guests to make the morning meal. They wouldn't be making anything complex, a simple Plomeek soup would suffice.

Looking outside the window, she could see that the sun was still not up. As quietly as possible, the two crept- well, she did, Spock simply walked normally- to the kitchen and began cooking. She did mess up a few times, but it was thankfully nothing to consequential and was easily fixed.

When Sarek woke up and saw that they had made breakfast, he was what she assumed the closest thing to outwardly pleased as possible. All together they shared the meal, then retreated to the living room to discuss their plans for the day.

* * *

 **So, I've decided to upload this chapter five days early, and I'm gonna post the next chapter on the day I was supposed to post this one(the 30th) simply because I've been really late these past couple weeks, and I wanna make it up to you(definitely not because I already wrote the next chapter and don't want y'all to wait two weeks for it haha). I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and know that the next one is a freakin' feels train!**

 **emmabou: Haha thanks!**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Tada! More conversation!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated February 25th, 2017.**


	32. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

It had been a week since Spock and Ellara had arrived on Vulcan, yet the time had flown by like a snap of the fingers. However, there was one conversation that Ellara remembered that had seemed to pass almost glacially.

 _Sarek turned to Ellara as Spock left to go visit an old friend without her. She had tripped and fallen the day before, and elected to stay home as her leg was giving her some trouble. "Ellara, I wish to speak to you on the matter of my son." was all he said._

 _His tone scared her just the slightest bit, and she wondered if she had done something wrong. "Yes?" It came out less like a question, and more as a slight defence._

" _Do you love him?" was all Sarek asked._

 _Ellara didn't even take two beats before replying, "Wholeheartedly."_

" _Would you marry him?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Would you die for him?"_

" _Undoubtedly."_

" _Would you live for him?"_

 _This one was a puzzler. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."_

 _Her eyes may have deceived her, but she could have sworn she saw the corner of Sarek's mouth tilt up a miniscule fraction at her Spock-like answer. "What I mean is, if you had to, would you live and let him die if he asked you to?"_

 _She took a moment to think of what to say, but slowly shook her head. "As selfish as it is, I couldn't do that. I couldn't live knowing he was dead so that I could live. And I can't lose anyone else; I can't."_

 _Sarek looked away, murmuring, "Fascinating."_

 _For some reason, this filled her with a quiet fury that he seemed to treat her answers as some sort of experiment, however she didn't voice it and instead clenched her jaw and looked out the window, willing for Spock to come home. Luckily, the universe seemed to be tuned into her thoughts, as he arrived home a mere three minutes later. Spotting the two sitting in the living room and catching on to his girlfriend's sour mood, all he said was, "I assume the two of you kept busy."_

" _Yes." was her simple reply._

"We have almost arrived at Rendoria, Ellara." Spock spoke up, and Ellara looked out the window of the shuttle they were on to see that he was right. Her gorgeous planet was looming up ahead.

It looked just as she remembered it: Completely green, with some small spots of blue where the water was. Most of it came from underground sources, as their planet was mainly land. She could see the man-made rivers that separated each region. Two in the middle, both horizontally and vertically. The spot between them was the Middle, the area where the Mediators and government resided. And at the top left was her region. If she looked hard enough, she could see the giant tower where the Priests and Priestesses lived.

The shuttle landed without a hitch, and Spock and Ellara exited with their luggage. Waiting for them was her father, who had a grim expression on his face. "Father, what's wrong?" she asked, already worried.

Nalli glanced around shiftily before grabbing her bag and hissing, "Not here. I'll tell you when we get home."

Immediately his demeanor changed, and he embraced her in a large hug. "It's so good to see you!" he said cheerfully and quite loudly.

He turned to Spock then, "And Spock! I hope you're keeping my daughter safe and happy."

"Faaaatherrrr." Ellara whined, rolling her eyes.

Both her and Spock had caught on that something was wrong, and attempted to play along with his charade. "I strive to do exactly that, sir." Spock replied, a small smirk lacing his features.

Ellara, although still pretending to protest her father's teasing, was greatly touched by Spock's admission.

The three of them took the short walk to Nalli's home, and Ellara was surprised to find at least twenty people having a rousing discussion in his living room. She recognized a few of the faces as people from her youth, however she didn't understand why they were there.

"Ellara, do you remember when you were younger, how you would stage small sieges on the government buildings in the area?" Nalli began, once her and Spock had been seated with a cup of tea.

Spock turned his head to look sharply at Ellara, not having expected that side of her. "Yes, father. But what does that have to do with this group of people?"

Nalli took a sip from his own cup, before sighing, and saying, "We're planning a siege on the Middle."

Ellara let out a large gasp, surprised and scared. "You can't! You know you can't! Others have tried, and they always failed. You know what the punishment is, father."

It was true. Many groups had tried to take the Middle in the past, and they were caught every time. And every time, there was a public execution held. She also had, in fact, laid sieges on local government buildings in her childhood. Luckily, using her quick wit and planning skills, she always managed to escape. Not to mention, the damage she did was always inconsequential.

"I am afraid that we must, my little fire. The other day, a member from another region came and attacked Elliha." Ellara gasped and her hands flew to her face in shock. "And the government let him go with no consequence."

"I understand, father. But that doesn't mean I think it's ok." Ellara replied, a little forcefully.

Nalli sighed deeply as he got up, running a hand through his greying hair. "Ellara, we're trying to take over the government of this planet. To inspire change. We want to elect someone different, and make things better for us."

Ellara shook her head as she shot back, "I know that, father. But I'm legally not allowed to help. I'm sorry."

Nalli gave her a small smile. "I wasn't asking you to. In fact, I wish you hadn't have come; it's not safe. But now that you're here, it would be good if you could keep an eye on the cat. I'll contact you when we're back."

As the group began to leave, Spock followed them outside as Ellara stared blankly ahead, still sitting on the couch. "Sir, I was wondering if I may ask a question of you…"

* * *

It had been two days since the group had left, and Ellara still had no word from them. Spock could tell that she was going stir crazy, as she had begun to knit, and had already made him a sweater.

"Ellara, please, relax." he implored her, yet again.

"Spock, I can't." she cried, putting her head in her hands. "What if they're dead, Spock? No one but them knows we're here, who would come and tell us?"

Spock, knowing what she needed at that moment, sat down and put his arm around her. He began rubbing her shoulder, offering his silent support. Ellara accepted it and laid her head on him. "Thank you." she whispered.

Suddenly, the phone began ringing, and Ellara practically flew off the couch in an attempt to answer it. "Uh-huh." she told the person on the other end. "Mhmm. Yeah. Ok. I got it."

Once she hung up, Ellara turned and pressed her back to the wall, tilting her head to the ceiling. Her face was both pained and relieved. "What has happened?" asked Spock.

"He's injured, but they were successful. And, by popular vote, Elliha is now the new leader of Rendoria." she replied rapidly.

Spock nodded, but was pleased to hear her father was alive. At least he was safe.

* * *

When the two returned to the ship from shore leave, Spock left almost immediately for a briefing while she went to her office to see if anyone wished to see her.

They did not, and she spent a few hours filling in paperwork that had piled up. Finally, at around twenty-one hundred hours, she received a comm from Lieutenant Sulu. "Counsellor Lat'toy, you're needed on the bridge."

"On my way." she answered before getting up and leaving.

When she arrived at the bridge, she found that it had been decorated with numerous flowers, and the lights had been turned down low. There was no one else on the bridge, save for Spock, who was at his station.

He had his back turned to her, and appeared to be working, however she could see his hand clutching something.

"Spock? Can you tell me why I'm here right now?" she asked, cautiously stepping towards him.

Ellara watched as he took a deep breath and slowly turned around. "Ellara, we have been together for approximately two years, correct?"

A sharp intake of breath was heard from her as she got an idea of what was about to happen. Reaching Spock, she slowly nodded her head, looking up at him. "In that time, we have professed our love for each other many times, have shared many kisses, and have survived countless trials." He slowly reached out and grasped her hand with his own. "But that is not all. I… I have grown to feel a powerful attraction to you, one that I can not deny. Being away from you causes me pain, because I do not wish to be. I want to be the one that you come to with all your happiness and troubles, that you kiss every night. In fact, I would even like to be the father to your children, if you would like them. To do that, however, I feel that I must ask what I am about to."

Ellara let out a small sob, her hands shooting to her mouth as Spock knelt down on one knee and held open the small box he had had clutched in his hand. Inside, a beautiful ring lay inside. The band was a shiny silver, and the jewel was one that she did not recognize, but had a feeling was native to Vulcan. She looked back at Spock, who looked extremely worried, yet at peace. "Ellara Lat'toy, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" he asked, his voice wavering exponentially.

Ellara simply cried "Yes!" before practically launching herself at him and kissing him harshly.

They were interrupted, however, as the bridge crew cried out in celebration at the engagement. Ellara had tears in her eyes, and a broad smile spread across her face as she saw her friends coming out from various hiding spots, the bridge lights brightening. She turned back to Spock, who gently slid the ring onto her finger. Ellara looked up into his eyes, and saw that he was smiling wide, which shocked her, but she was so happy that she didn't care. "I love you." she mouthed to him.

"And I, you." he mouthed back.

The two kept looking at each other as Kirk came over and slapped Spock on the back, Uhura clinging to his side and squealing about how 'This is honestly the best day ever, and to think we had to push you two together!'

The bridge crew spent the evening celebrating, but the party drew to a close, and Spock and Ellara slowly made their way back to their quarters, hand in hand.

When they reached their room, Spock kindly let Ellara enter first, and saw that it was decorated with rose petals and scented candles, and that there was a beautiful romantic meal spread out for the two of them. Thankfully, Spock looked about as surprised as Ellara, so that was… not necessarily good, but it was interesting. "I believe the Captain and Uhura have decorated our room."

"So they have." said Ellara, looking around at their room. "I think Jim wants something to happen."

"What do you mean?" asked Spock, tilting his head as he extinguished a candle that was precariously close to a stack of paperwork.

Ellara chuckled, turning to look at him and reply. "He's unfortunately aware of exactly how intimate we've been… and haven't been."

From across the room, Ellara could see Spock gulp, and a small smile graced her face. "That doesn't mean I want to do anything right now, Spock. There's no need. I'm happy just knowing that you love me, and I love you."

Spock looked relieved, and crossed the room to hold Ellara in his arms. And though it was unspoken, she could feel his silent thanks.

* * *

 **Eeek! Unfortunate news, the next chapter will be the epilogue! I am planning, however, on writing a... not a one-shot, but a small side story detailing the events of their wedding, both Vulcan and Rendorian(although more focused on Rendorian, because I'll be basing pretty much everything for the Vulcan one off of Memory-Alpha...) Also, I know that I held like three polls for this, but tbh, I'm not sure I wanna write the story for the character chosen anymore... I started it, and it's boring me half to death. Out of curiosity, would anyone be willing to read a story about the loveable android Data? Not that I already have a plotline in mind, as well as an OC that is also Rendorian... because that would be crazy... pfffffffftttttttt... Please don't judge me! Also, did anyone catch the fact that I said "It'll be updated the 30th" last chapter? Which is hilarious, because there is no February 30th... I'm a geeeeniuuuuuus.**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Thanks!**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated March 2nd, 2017.**


	33. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Wait, so you asked him just before he left?" Ellara asked, looking at Spock from her place in his arms.

The two were watching a movie in their shared quarters. After much prompting, Spock had begun to explain how he'd gone about getting things together to propose to her.

 _Spock and Ellara had been dating for almost two years, and Spock was certain that she was the woman he wished to marry. So, he set about planning everything. When the two were granted shore leave, it was like a blessing come true. They made a stop on Vulcan, where Spock got his mother's engagement ring from his father. Sarek had been keeping it safe, as Amanda had told both him and Spock that she wished for Spock to give it to his future spouse._

 _From Sarek, the two went to Rendoria, where Spock asked Nalli for his blessing. Nalli was informed that with or without it, Spock would still propose, but that it would be better if he had it. Nalli, of course, seeing how happy Spock made Ellara, gave it. All it took afterwards were a few calls to the Enterprise while Ellara was distracted, and the proposal was all set._

"I did. I wished to have had more time, however, I was unsure if Nalli would be returning, and so I believed it to be best to ask him as soon as possible." Spock replied, rubbing his thumb on her forearm.

Ellara bristled slightly at the mention of her father's possible death, but calmed down when she felt Spock rubbing her arm. "I'm glad you got it. He may have been absent, but he is still my father."

Spock didn't reply, and Ellara realised that she might have said something wrong. "You do know that I would have said yes either way though, correct?"

When all she heard was silence, Ellara paused the movie to turn around and look at Spock. It was only then that she noticed he had fallen asleep, and she giggled at seeing his mouth hanging open in his sleep. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and settled against his chest, preparing to sleep as well.

* * *

Ellara paced back and forth in her childhood home, dressed in traditional Rendorian wedding robes. It was the day of her wedding, and she was getting massive cold feet. Nyota, who had stepped outside briefly to speak to Nalli, walked back in and quickly took action.

The slap that greeted Ellara's face was not entirely unwelcome. However, the force with which it was delivered, was. Ellara almost fell to the floor, and Nyota gasped in shock, not realizing how hard she had hit her friend. "God, El, I'm so sorry, I just don't know my strength sometimes!"

Nyota tried to help Ellara right herself, but the Rendorian waved her off, cradling a hand to her stinging cheek and saying, "It's alright. I needed it."

Uhura shot her a grateful smile, bringing Ellara over to stand in front of the full length mirror that had been placed in her old room. Nyota sighed in happiness as she saw the clothing Ellara wore, in all it's splendor. The robes, a deep and rich Eminence purple (hex code: #6C3082 to be added to an), featuring beautiful gold highlights in indescribable patterns. In Rendorian culture, purple stood for regality and true love, while gold signified good health and fertility. The combination of colours in wedding clothing was common, and Ellara was pleased that she was good friends with a seamstress. To be fair, the garment was called a robe, but was very much a dress. The dress was backless, and featured an off-shoulder neckline. The skirt of the dress was quite large and puffy, but not obnoxiously so. Most Rendorian's refused a train, as had Ellara. She had tried some on when trying out other dresses, and found it didn't fit right with her. To be fair, neither did the exaggerated dress, but she wanted to treat herself on this momentous occasion.

Across the hall, Spock stood in Nalli's room, staring at himself in the mirror. He was also sporting traditional Rendorian wedding clothing. His shirt, which was the same shade of purple as Ellara's dress, featured gold buttons and trim, rather than an intricate design. It was a dress shirt, but rather then buttoning up at the front, the buttons were placed on the side. The top of the collar extended to Spock's shoulder, and then buttoned down diagonally until it reached just below his belly button (will instruct readers to look at my Instagram for drawings). His slacks were very tight, almost obscenely so, and were a plain black. Around his waist was a gold sash, with fanciful purple embroidery that Nyota and Kirk had worked on for almost two days. As Ellara and Spock's maid of honour and best man(respectively), it was up to them to organize almost the entirety of the wedding, per Rendorian culture.

Nalli stood behind Spock, and gently placed a Flower of Light behind his ear. When Ellara and Spock reached the alter, Spock would move it from him to Ellara. "Are you sure that I am ready for this, father?" Spock asked Sarek, who had just walked in.

His father looked down, pursing his lips. "I do not think I will ever be able to admit that you are ready, my son. As… illogical as it is, I shall always see you as the small child who got into fights when other's insulted your mother. However, I do believe that the match you have made with Ellara is well suited, and that the two of you shall have long and successful lives."

Nalli winced a little bit from the corner he was in at the almost medical deliverance of Sarek's words, but Spock seemed pacified. Kirk popped his head into the room, holding a black blindfold. "We're ready, Spock."

"Are you?" asked Nalli, and Spock paused before giving a strong nod.

* * *

"Wait, you're pregnant?" Rick cried, placing his hands on Ellara's stomach.

After the wedding, Rick had decided that it would be his mission to reconnect with his old friend. They hadn't spoken in almost two years, but she'd made sure he had been invited to the ceremony. Well, him, his husband, and their adopted daughter. Rick had been a sight for Ellara's sore eyes at the reception, but it was nice to finally see him again.

Back to the matter at hand, Ellara nodded vigorously, unable to keep the grin off of her face. "But, how? I thought you told me that they had to use intense science or whatever for Spock's parents to have him?" Rick protested.

Ellara rolled his eyes, shaking her head at his dramatic tone. "What have I told you, time and time again? Rendoria is best at…"

Rick picked up where Ellara trailed off. "Is best at finding ways to let anyone have kids, yeah, I get that. I just thought you meant between different genders."

Ellara shook her head. "Nope, interspecies relationships as well. And, after months and months of research, we finally have a," Ellars put up her hands and made air quotes, "Bun in the oven."

Rick swatted her hands down, but quickly grabbed them. "I'm so happy for you, El. Are you still staying on with Starfleet?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nope. Actually, fun fact, that decision was made before we received the news. I got an offer to be the Ambassador for Rendoria to Earth, and Spock is going to be taking over Sarek's position soon." Ellara beamed, pleased with what she had just said.

Rick's eyebrows rose sky high, and he gave Ellara a big hug. "That's amazing! Now you guys won't be spending so much time in space!"

Rick, although originally deployed to a starship, had quickly realized it wasn't for him, and joined his boyfriend- now husband- back on Earth to work at the Starbase there.

"When is the kid due?" Rick asked, curious.

Ellars was about to answer, but quickly tuned into Spock. She saw that he was having an argument with Kirk, having just told him the news. Ellara held up one finger to Rick, and pulled out her PADD, firing a message of comfort to Spock to see once he was done. Turning her attention back to her friend, Ellara answered. "In about eight months. It'll take a little longer for this child then usual, but that's fine. I'm just glad to have one."

Unconsciously, Ellara rubbed her hand over her stomach, and Rick was secretly pleased. He knew she would be an amazing mother.

* * *

After five hours of delivery, little baby Amanda Meritha was born. Her full name was Amanda Meritha Lywa Lat'toy. It was a joint decision of Spock and Ellara to have her middle name be that of Ellara's deceased, prior soulmate, in a way of honouring her. Naming her after their mothers was an almost obvious decision, of course. Nalli had cried, and Sarek had had to excuse himself.

In the months that passed, Ellara and Spock watched as Amanda Meritha, often shortened to Ameritha, grew coarse black hair, and found that her green eyes matched beautifully. She had Ellara's eyes, but the rest of her face was Spock's. She was an adorable child, a total troublemaker, but received the utmost affection from her parents.

Ellara thought her and Spock would have to have a discussion about whether they would be raising her the Rendorian way or the Vulcan way, but found that he wished she be raised how Ellara had been, minus the pre-arranged marriage. Ellara agreed, finding that it was a good idea. Having two parents as Ambassadors would be hard enough, she didn't want to overcomplicate Ameritha's life.

Over the course of the rest of their life, Ellara and Spock found that it was relatively peaceful, and relished their time together. They lived happily ever after.

* * *

 **I'm not crying, you are! Jkjk. But this was a very sad chapter for me to write, knowing that this story was now over. I'll never get to write about these characters again... Which is a total lie, because I just wrote the prologue for my next fanfic which is about TNG and stuff happens... Woops. I hope y'all enjoyed writing this story, though, as I did. A big thank you to TransformersGeek, who has been my beta throughout most of this story. And a huge hug to all of you awesome readers, as well as a high-five to those of you who commented(especially those who commented on almost every single chapter; y'all are the real mvp's). I'm so sad this is over, but don't fret! I will be writing a series of one-shots about the things that happen in this chapter in further detail(the wedding might be a two-shot). I'll add a chapter at the end once the one-shots are posted.**

 **CelestiaSakura: Aww, sweetie, there's still a bit more to come!**

 **pearl. clark. 129: You're welcome! Thank you for being an awesome reader!**

 **Love. Fiction. 2016: Thanks! :)**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated March 9th, 2017.**


	34. AN

**AN: The first of the oneshots has been posted! Go check my profile to find it! It's called "Smiles of an Angel" because I am really cheesy. :)**

 **\- fangirl0012345**

 **Updated August 20th, 2017.**


	35. Author's Note

Just a heads up that the new cover image for this fanfic was created by Queen Mo-Freakin and they have given me permission to use it for this fanfic.

It is so awesome and I am in such awe! :)

\- fangirl0012345


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